T-72 operators and variants: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:25, 9 March 2025

Revision as of 11:26, 9 March 2025

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===India===

[[File:Indian Army T-72 image1.jpg|thumb|right|Ajeya MK2]]

By the late 1970s, [[Indian Army]] HQ had decided to acquire new-generation replacements for its UK-origin fleet of [[Centurion (tank)|Centurion]] and [[Vijayanta]] MBTs (based on the [[Vickers MBT]]), and consequently, paper evaluations concerning the firepower and mobility characteristics of the two principal contenders being offered for full in-country production— French-origin [[AMX-40]] and the British-origin [[Chieftain (tank)|Chieftain 800]] — were conducted by the Indian Army. By early 1980, the Army chose the 43-tonne AMX-40 MBT, which was still in its design-stage. It was to be powered by a 1,100&nbsp;hp [[Poyaud]] V12X 12-cylinder diesel engine coupled with a LSG-3000 automatic power shift transmission built by [[RENK]] Aktiengesellschaft of Germany offering a [[power-to-weight ratio]] of 25.6&nbsp;hp/tonne, and armed with a 120&nbsp;mm [[smoothbore]] cannon. However, AMX-40 had only marginal protection by the standards of 1980's. After the [[1980 Indian general election|General elections in 1980]], [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] [[Indira Gandhi]] requested additional evaluation, including MBTs from the USSR, following which the Soviet Union's Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations (which after 1991 morphed into Oboronexport, then Rosoboronservice and ultimately [[Rosoboronexport]] State Corp) made a formal offer to India's [[Ministry of Defence (India)|Ministry of Defence]] (MoD) for supplying the 37-tonne T-72M Ob'yekt 172M-E4 MBT off-the-shelf, and according an approval for licensed-production of the 41.5-tonne T-72M-1982 Ob'yekt 172M-E6 to the MoD-owned [[Heavy Vehicles Factory]] (HVF) in [[Avadi]]. By early 1981, two [[T-72]]Ms—powered by a 780&nbsp;hp diesel engine, armed with 125&nbsp;mm [[2A46 125 mm gun|2A46M]] smoothbore gun and offering a power-to-weight ratio of 20&nbsp;hp/tonne, were subjected to an exhaustive series of in-country firepower and mobility trials by the Army. After review of trial results, T-72M and T-72-1982 (powered by a Model V-84MS four-stroke 12-cylinder multi-fuel engine developing 840&nbsp;hp and offering a power-to-weight ratio of 18.8&nbsp;hp/tone) were selected as Army's future MBTs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sengupta |first=Prasun K. |date=2011-09-01 |title=TRISHUL: T-90AM: Latest Avatar Of The T-90 MBT |url=https://trishul-trident.blogspot.com/2011/09/t-90am-latest-avatar-of-t-90-mbt.html |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=TRISHUL}}</ref> Throughout the 1980s India continued to induct T-72 tanks followed by a licensed production line in [[Heavy Vehicles Factory]] (HVF) in [[Avadi]], India since 1984.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-06 |title=Major Russian customer scraps and dumps over 2400 T-72 tanks |url=https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2024/09/06/major-russian-customer-scraps-and-dumps-over-2400-t-72-tanks/ |access-date=2024-09-10 |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2025, India signed a $248 million contract with Rosoboronexport to procure new and more powerful 1000 hp engines to replace the current 750 hp engines in the Indian Army's T-72 fleet.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=7 March 2025 |title=India signs $248 million deal with Russia for advanced battle tank engines |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/india-signs-248-million-deal-with-russia-advanced-battle-tank-engines-2025-03-07/ |access-date=9 March 2025 |website=Reuters}}</ref> The $248 million procurement deal also includes a [[Technology transfer|transfer of technology]] from Rosoboronexport to [[Armoured Vehicles Nigam]], an [[Government of India|Indian government]] [[Public Sector Undertakings in India|owned company]], for licensed engine production.<ref name=":1" /> The Indian Army has operated and tested variousseveral variants of the T-72, including:

* '''Ajeya MK1''' (''Unconquerable'') <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/ajeya#:~:text=Ajeya%20(%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%9C%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%AF)%20refers%20to%20%E2%80%9C,to%20Mah%C4%81praj%C3%B1%C4%81p%C4%81ramit%C4%81%C5%9B%C4%81stra%20(chapter%2039) | title=Ajeya, Ajeye: 15 definitions | date=5 July 2017 }}</ref> – Indian version of the T-72M1. In parallel with buying various T-72M off-the-shelf from the Soviet Union, India also launched its domestic production at [[Heavy Vehicles Factory]].<ref name="JED The Military Equipment Directory">{{Cite web|url=http://www.jedsite.info/tanks-tango/tango-numbers-su/t-72_series/t72-series.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012124110/http://www.jedsite.info/tanks-tango/tango-numbers-su/t-72_series/t72-series.html|url-status=dead|title="JED The Military Equipment Directory"|archive-date=12 October 2007}}{{Unreliable source?|date=July 2011}}{{registration required}}</ref>

* '''Ajeya MK2''' – Indian version of the T-72M1 with ERA and banks of 6 smoke grenade-launchers on each side.