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T-72: On the Road to Obsolescence â‹… 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 army insists that the 200 T-72 and T-80 tanks found in the woods next to a railroad station in the Urals last week, was part of a normal movement of military equipment, and the vehicles were under guard. But a week ago, people living in village of Elanskaya (outside the city of Yekaterinburg) noted the vehicles, unguarded, and unlocked, but without ammo or ignition keys. Local kids began crawling in and out of the tanks. Videos of all this began showing up on local, then national, web news programs. The government controlled national media tried to ignore it at...

UPDATE 1-Raytheon says bidding for India tank upgrade * Partnering Larsen & Toubro for 1,000 tank contract Stocks * Contract value seen at more than $100 mln (Adds detail) NEW DELHI, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Raytheon Co (RTN.N), the world's biggest missile maker, said on Friday it and partner Larsen & Toubro (LART.BO) have bid for the contract to upgrade 1,000 T-72 battle tanks in India. Defence ministry officials said India was looking to spend at least $100 million in upgrading the tanks, which India bought from Russia three decades ago. "The upgrade will increase the lethality of the T-72...

Russia's T-90 vs India's Arjun Ajai Shukla / New Delhi February 02, 2010, 0:23 IST Next month, India’s homegrown Arjun tank will take on the new Russian T-90 in a long-awaited comparative trial. The outcome could decide whether the Indian Army will ride Indian tanks into future battles or continue its reliance upon a heavily criticised fleet of Russian T-72 tanks, which even the army chief admits is 80 per cent blind at night, when most tank battles occur. The army’s Bikaner-headquartered 24 Infantry Division will conduct the month-long trials in the desert expanses around Bikaner, Suratgarh and Pokhran. A...

Czechs are used to betrayal by their Western allies. It was at Munich in 1938 that British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain sealed their doom in exchange for a piece of paper promising "peace in our time." The fact that this further gutting of missile defense came on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland on Sept. 17, 1939, is an eerie coincidence. "Just after midnight I was informed in a telephone call by President Barack Obama that (his) administration had decided to pull out from the planned missile defense shield installations" in the Czech Republic and Poland, the...

Strategic Defense: With Iran on the verge of a deliverable nuke, the administration tells our allies in the dead of night that we will scuttle missile defense plans in Eastern Europe to please the Russians.Czechs are used to betrayal by their Western allies. It was at Munich in 1938 that British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain sealed their doom in exchange for a piece of paper promising "peace in our time." The fact that this further gutting of missile defense came on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland on Sept. 17, 1939, is an eerie coincidence. "Just after...

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has announced that the country will soon take delivery of Russian missiles with a range of 300km (185 miles). Returning from a 10-day tour of Africa, Asia and Europe, including Russia, Mr Chavez is also planning to buy Russian T-72 and T-90. "Soon some little rockets are going to be arriving... and they don't fail," he announced at the presidential palace. But he denied they would be used for offensive purposes. "We are not going to attack anybody, these are just defence tools, because we are going to defend our country from any threat, wherever it...

Excerpt - MOSCOW — A Russian warship on Friday rushed to intercept a Ukrainian vessel carrying 33 battle tanks and ammunition that was seized by pirates off the Horn of Africa — a bold hijacking that heightened fears about the surging piracy and high-seas terrorism. ~ snip ~

Indian Army sounds indigenous battle tank's death knell The Indian Army seems to have sounded the death knell for an indigenous main battle tank (MBT) that has been in the development for nearly 36 years, saying it would purchase no more than the 124 it had signed a contract for. "The Arjun (as the MBT has been named) can, at best serve us for another five or maximum 10 years. What we need is a tank that can serve us for the next 20 to 25 years," an officer said. "I'm not saying it is a bad tank. It's just...

Ajai Shukla: The desert duel that wasn`t BROADSWORD Ajai Shukla / New Delhi September 11, 2007 The Mahajan Field Firing Ranges (MFFR), near Suratgarh, in Rajasthan, a hive of army activity between September and March, transforms into desolation during the summer months. During that interregnum, the emptiness, the blazing 50-degree-plus heat, the absence of water, and the unrelenting sandstorms make MFFR an ideal testing ground for equipment that the army proposes to buy. Here, over the last 33 years, the Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO) has carried out scores of often-unsuccessful trials on India’s Arjun tank. It is here, during this...

Defence brass on 'secret' Israel trips Rajat Pandit [ 2 Oct, 2006 0035hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ] NEW DELHI: The ever-expanding Indo-Israeli military relationship, which came out of the closet during the previous NDA regime, has once again gone underground under the UPA government. In July, defence minister Pranab Mukherjee was forced to call off his visit to Israel due to political sensitivities, both domestic and international. CPM and CPI even demanded India sever all military ties with Israel in wake of the bloody conflict in Southern Lebanon. Now, top defence officials are being forced to make "covert" visits to...

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The T-72 main battle tanks donated to the Iraq Army could be impounded before they reach Baghdad. A U.S. company has sued the Iraqi Defense Ministry in a Kuwaiti court for lack of payment in a contract to refurbish the T-72s. The company, Defense Solutions LLC, has sought to impound the tanks when they arrive in Kuwait. Last week, the Iraq Army accepted delivery of the first T-72s. The T-72s have been donated by Hungary and shipped by NATO for the new Iraq Army Ninth Division, meant to be a motorized armor unit.

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel...

"You're Still My Baby" Baghdad, Iraq - Capt. Daniel Schmitt looked eagerly at the tank and then explained. "I have a hobby. I drive every single thing in the Marine Corps at least once."But this is a Russian-made T-72 Iraqi tank, not a Marine vehicle."It is now," said Schmitt, 31 grinning like the Cheshire cat as he climbed into the tank for a short joyride through a palm grove Monday.Schmitt, commanding officer of the Weapons Company of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, dreamed of driving the tank when he first saw it parked by the side of the road Sunday...

Despite being outnumbered, the U.S. group vanquished the Iraqi Republican Guard force within minutes, thanks to superior armed vehicles and devastatingly powerful ammunition. "My commander called me, gave me the warning order to be prepared to conduct an attack on 22 stationary T-72s [Soviet-built tanks used by the Iraqis] that the [U.S.] Air Force had identified," Lyle said. "I selected a force, tank heavy, almost all the tanks in my troop, with some Bradleys [armored fighting vehicles] to go with it."