Vietnam Topped the List of Potential Customers of the T-90MS Tank

02 September 2021

T-90MS is a latest version of T-90 MBT (photos : Rosoboronexport)

Beyond Belarus, Syria and many other countries, Vietnam has been assessed by military experts as the most potential country to own the latest Russian T-90 tank variant.

Entering service from the beginning of 2020, the T-90M Breakthrough tank is currently being produced in Russia in parallel with the T-14 Armata tank, to gradually phase out upgraded variants of the T-72 and T-80 tanks in Cold War era.

The main battle tank T-90M is also equipped with 2A46M-5 cannon and Kalina fire control system like the T-14 tank, Afghanit active protection system and Relikt explosive reactive armor for high survivability. and much superior firepower.

The T-90 has been the most exported tank in the world for the past 25 years, with 12 countries ordering this vehicle, including Russia, and many countries have ordered several hundred units.

As a marked improvement over the older T-90, the T-90 M main battle tank is expected to achieve significant export success and currently has two major customers, Egypt, with an order of 500 tanks. tanks and India is 460 tanks.

Based on countries' military needs and previous purchase patterns, military experts have identified the top five potential customers for the T-90MS, as the export variant of the T-90M is called.

The first is Vietnam, although possessing a modern tank force, most of Vietnam's approximately 1,900 tanks are old designs. Including about 1,200 Soviet T-54/55 and Chinese Type 59, about 300 PT-76 and Type 62/63 light tanks.

The main force of Vietnamese tanks includes T-62 tanks, and the only modern tank is the T-90S/SK, of which 64 are in service. With Vietnam continuing to invest in modernization, the possibility of acquiring more T-90, most likely a new more advanced T-90MS variant is very high.

The second is Algeria, the second largest foreign customer for T-90 tanks, Algeria has long been a major customer of Russian armor and currently owns more than 1,500 Soviet and Russian tanks.

Includes more than 600 T-90S tanks, as well as about 300 T-72M1/M1M, T-62 and T-55 tanks. While the T-55 and T-62 are expected to remain in service despite their "age", the majority is intended for training and reserve units. In addition, the possibility of replacing the T-72 with more T-90s or with the next generation T-14 is very high.

Besides, the T-90s to be ordered in the future could be the more advanced T-90MS variant, offering a better performance advantage over the M1 Abrams of neighboring countries such as Morocco or NATO tanks. by the European powers.

Third is Belarus, which despite being Russia's largest defense partner in Europe and inheriting a large military-industrial base from the Soviet Union, Belarus' armored units most notably are vehicles. tank T-72B3 and T-72B.

Currently, although the T-72 has many modern improved variants like the T-72B3, it is still far behind NATO platforms such as the K2 Black Panther imported by neighboring Poland, or the latest variants. of the M1A2 Abrams deployed by the US military in Europe.

Belarus has repeatedly emphasized that it sees growing NATO forces on its borders as a major security threat. So it is highly likely that the country will invest in buying new armor from Russia, perhaps on friendly terms or financed by loans from Moscow.

Fourth is Syria, which has long been a top foreign customer for Russian tank designs. Syria has received substantial armored units with Russian aid since the Russian military intervened in the country in September 2015 to assist in fighting the insurgency.

Syria's more elite units are equipped with T-90A tanks, a much older variant of the T-90 that has been in service with the Russian army since 2004. In addition, Syria can continue to be supplied. old Russian tanks if the country encounters a serious shortage.

But Syria still wants to find a way to retrofit its elite units, with more capable tanks in the form of an upgrade package for the T-90 purchased from Russia. This is considered necessary to give an advantage when confronting the Turkish Leopard 2 tank.

Finally, Iran, the Iranian armored units are among the oldest in the Middle East with more than 1,500 tanks in service, all of which are old and outdated generations.

The most elite tank force of the Iranian army has about 500 T-72S tanks that are manufactured under domestic license and have extremely limited capabilities compared to modern T-72 variants such as the T-72B3 produced by the Iranian military. used in the Russian military and provided as aid to Syria in the 2010s.

Although Iran has revealed the indigenous Karrar tank, based on the experience of building Soviet T-72 tanks, its capabilities have raised a serious question mark, especially given Iran's lack of experience in the field. tank design and modernization.

The possibility of Iran acquiring T-90 tanks, which can be produced domestically under license, has been raised in the past, and if such a purchase is made, the country will choose the latest and modern variant like the T-90MS.

(KienThuc)