Posted on 12/20/2010 7:38:00 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
T-72: On the Road to Obsolescence ⋅
NEWTOWN, Conn. - New production of the T-72 main battle tank in the Russian Federation remains dormant. The Rosoboronexport organization continues to offer the remaining Russian T-72 tank inventory for export. All new T-72 production now involves only one licensed-production line. With the completion of the Iranian licensed-production programs, we expect no new T-72 production.
The T-72 enjoys wide distribution on the international market, with at least 36 nations currently maintaining various versions of the tank in their inventories. The modernization and retrofit packages available will ensure continued use of the T-72 throughout the next decade. The center of gravity for the T-72 program has clearly shifted to the development of various modernization and retrofit packages, many of which rationalize the T-72 with NATO MBT requirements.
However, T-72 modernization and retrofit programs will soon reach the point of diminishing returns, as they add sufficient cost to the bargain-basement T-72 to place it in direct competition with high-end MBT designs such as the Leopard 2 and M1A1 Abrams. At some point, the T-72 will clearly lose any advantage on the international market.
Since 1990, a number of modern main battle tanks have faced the acid test of combat; many more have yet to fire a shot in anger. When we evaluate a tank's performance in combat, we often find a tank radically different from the peacetime assessments. Perhaps the starkest illustration of this phenomenon involves the T-72. Throughout the last two decades of the Cold War, Western analysts considered the T-72 to be the primary threat in Europe. Indeed, U.S. and NATO doctrine and programs focused considerable attention on countering the T-72 threat.
Finally, in January 1991, U.S. M1A1 Abrams and British FV4034 Challenger tanks faced the vaunted T-72 in live combat for the first time, during Operation Desert Storm. After a mere 100 hours of ground combat, the reputation of the T-72 lay in ruins. The world learned that the T-72 - the erstwhile scourge of Europe - simply was not in the same league as the Abrams and the Challenger on the modern battlefield. During the opening phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Telic (the British component of OIF), the T-72 again found itself clearly overmatched by the M1A1 and M1A2 Abrams and the Challenger 2.
Across the deserts of Iraq, countless rusting, burnt-out T-72 hulks bear silent witness to the harsh realities of modern combat.
The Forecast International Weapons Group considers it unlikely that the T-72 will remain in production after 2012. While the T-72 will remain in service throughout the next decade, its days as a significant force in the international MBT market are clearly numbered.
Source: Forecast International Weapons Group
Associated URL: Forecastinternational.com
Source Date: December 14, 2010
Author: D. Lockwood, Weapons Systems Analyst
Posted: 12/16/2010
Just as it always should be.
Never play to lose or tie...
I don't think it was coincidence that the Soviet Union fell just a few months later, after it was driven home that no Soviet military victory over the West was possible.
Umm, the Soviets didn’t have the world’s largest air force for nothing. Dumbed-down Iraqi T-72s fighting blind against US airpower and tanks was not the same scenario to be played out in Europe.
As a tanker back in the 80s I remember just looking at the reticle used by the T-72 gunner and it was clear that we’d murder them if they used the supposed Soviet doctrine of mass attacks.
Just as long as we didn’t get plastered by nerve agents, attack helicopters, or artillery first. ;-)
I don’t think T-72 could have a good performance against M1.
T-72 is a M-60 comparable.
I don’t think they are still produced either. The newest ones might be from earlier 80s.
As for T-72 on sell Russians has some 5000 surplus.
It is too old piece of equipment to their defence doctrine so it might be that surplus not a new tanks on sale.
Also why one could pay $2 million dollars for a brand new if you may get Czech or Ukrainian, or used from Red Army for $70,000 in mint condition.
I don’t think modern targeting computer, led monitiors, laser rangefinder and night vision are worth that difference.
You also can get this with Israely kits to tune used ones up.
In an invasion of Western Europe, the Soviet air force would have been flying over our SAM defenses and radar coverage, then going up against our air forces coordinated by AWACS. I would not assume that they would do better than the T-72 did in the ground war.
The same applies to Western forces as well. The Soviets placed far greater emphasis on SAMs and AAA given their location.
I mostly agree with assessment of the T-72 and its future (such as it is).
I would point out that the “M” export model used by the Iraqis had weaker armor, poor fire controls, and generally inferior ammunition compared to Russian domestic T-72s.
Of course, I don’t think those better T-72’s would have changed the outcome of the Gulf War. Even the best T-72 of that era was not really a one-on-one match for a western MBT like the Abrams or Challenger. Just sayin’ that the Russians kept the best versions of the tank and its accessories for themselves, including the Kontact-5 ERA they developed for use against sabot penetrators.
Equating the performance of the T-72 in Iraq with the performance of Soviet forces in Europe is well dumb to say the least.
The best way to see a T-72 is when it is burning. It’s also a good way to see T-55s and T-62s....
We still would have wiped them out. We could accurately take them out while on the move before we were in their range, and even if they did hit an M1, the shot usually didn't penetrate.
Exactly. Soviet forces were overwhelming power of that days.
Comparable to a Necromonger horde from Riddick movie or something.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kQfayHRoQw
I like that movie of their paradrop from earlier 70s.
Really impressive. I don’t think any other military could stand a chance against that.
We should also remember the other tank buster we had in our arsenal during the first Gulf War. The TOW missle systems. The TOWs could take out a T-72 from 3700 meters out. Well out of the T-72s range. They took out a lot of Iraqi tanks also.
You mean they don't have someone that can call it a contrail. Seems prettty low tech to me.
“I wonder what the statistics would have looked like if the tanks were run by Soviet crews instead. Not to take anything away from our guys, but I have to believe the poor training of the Iraqi army was a big part of the failure of their tank corps.”
Soviet spec tanks with soviet crews still wouldn’t matter.
The sights fitted to the T-72 are inferior even when compared to the M-60A3TTS.
The M1A1 were killing T-72’s at twice the distance that the T-72’s could even see.
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