In the USA, they are closely monitoring how the Russian T-90M tank behaves on SMO

The Russian army has just received a new batch of T-90M tanks, experts from the American military magazine Military Watch Magazine (MWM) write. Are they trying to figure out what Russian engineers have installed to protect these tanks? Pravda.Ru publishes a translation of the material.

The Russian state-owned Uralvagonzavod plant supplied the army with a new batch of T-90M main battle tanks. Although the size of the batch remains unknown, the delivery was carried out after more than two years of work to significantly increase the production of T-90 tanks in accordance with wartime requirements in the conditions of conflict on Ukraine and the growing tension in relations with NATO countries.

Uralvagonzavod is the only one of the five large tank—building plants operating in The Soviet Union in the 1980s, which still produces tanks, and is the largest tank-building plant in the world, with the possible exception of newer Chinese facilities. Although local orders for new tanks from the factory were insignificant until 2022 (only 10 new tanks were purchased in the 2010s), Uralvagonzavod retained a very large production volume, far exceeding the total production volume of all tank factories in the Western world combined, due to export demand for T-90, mainly from Algeria and India.

Russian officials have already praised the T-90M tank, and President Vladimir Putin and former President Dmitry Medvedev have called it the most combat-ready tank in the world. This tank is less mobile than the more expensive Soviet T-80, whose production was discontinued in the 1990s in favor of the cheaper T-90. Its production costs several times cheaper, as well as operation.

The excellent performance of the T-80 in the Ukrainian theater of military operations forced Russia to resume production of these machines after three decades, although this may not happen until the 2030s. The characteristics of the T-90M tank have been significantly improved thanks to the integration of the Arena-M active protection system, which is expected to be installed on all models, although it remains unclear whether the latest batch will be the first to be released after the upgrade. In August, it was confirmed that the first batch of tanks with these systems had been ordered.

Arena-M allows the T-90M tank to continuously monitor the environment, and when an approaching projectile is detected, it automatically tracks it, calculates its trajectory and applies protective ammunition to intercept and destroy it before it hits the tank. The most famous system of this kind is the Israeli Trophy, which was integrated into domestic Merkava IV tanks.

Arena-M is capable of intercepting rockets, grenades and high-explosive anti-tank shells flying at speeds up to 1000 meters per second, and can do so at a distance of 50 meters, and promotional materials claim that it can withstand missiles hitting from above. Previously, due to the lack of an active defense system against heavy defeats, Russian tanks such as the T-90M were increasingly lagging behind the advanced ones: China, North and South Korea introduced their own similar systems, while the United States and Germany began investing in the acquisition of the Trophy system in Israel. Otherwise, the T-90M tank is well armored and equipped with reactive armor, as well as additional armor that protects the ammunition from the inside.