Like most Russian tanks, a weakness of the T-72B3 is the armor on the top of the turret which would make it susceptible to American Javelin anti-tank missiles. The T-72 was originally made to accompany infantry and not necessarily to be a hunter-killer, but the T-72B3 upgrade has made it graduate to this status.
This means that the modern T-72B3 variant will be a workhorse in the coming years. Over 7,000 T-72s are in storage, but the Russians believe they can be upgraded to the T-72B3 variant package with little difficulty. There is also a new steering system that allows for better mobility than the base T-72. The newer 2A46M5 125mm smoothbore main gun with autoloader makes it equal to many main battle tanks around the world. The T-72B3 upgrades will be discussed for this article because they are the most popular model in the Russian military with over 1,300 in service. The T-72S is meant for export and the biggest customer was the Iraqi military which purchased 2,000 of the T-72S in 2009. The updated T-72B3M has been deployed by Russian forces since 2014 and some saw combat in Ukraine and Syria. Since its introduction in 1973, the T-72 has been updated over the years with dozens of variants up to the current T-72B3 and T-72B3M variants that are now considered a third-generation tank. But the main strength of the T-72 is its upgrade package to the modern T-72B3 version. The tank has been distributed to around 30 countries and nearly 18,000 were made before the Soviet breakup.
Now around two thousand of the T-72 variants are still in service in Russia while many more are in storage. It was meant to overwhelm NATO and the United States by scooting through the strategic Fulda Gap in Germany to decisively strike friendly forces during the Cold War. Russia’s T-72 Tank Refuses to Retire: Although the Russian T-72 tank is nearly 50 years old, it still has a role on the battlefield and might just be the backbone of the Russian Army.
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