Each of us knows the phrase of the Roman historian Cornelius Nepot (94-24 BC): "If you want peace, get ready for war." Due to the fact that Russia's foreign policy has recently been gaining more activity (for example, interference in the conflict between the USA and Syria, the return of Crimea, etc.), many sane people have a lot of questions about the fighting capacity of our state. After all, sooner or later it can find a scythe on a stone, and it is unlikely that it will be possible to resolve the issue by political means, then only force intervention will remain. And many understand this, so more and more often in various forums one can come across questions of a similar nature: “How many tanks do Russia have?”, “How many submarines?” etc. Such an interest reflects people's concern for the country's future: whether it can withstand an armed attack by, say, China or NATO forces. In this article, we will answer the question of how many tanks Russia has, consider what kind of armored vehicles it is, what its characteristics are, and what the most modern tank is in service in our army.
What kind of troops is this?
Russian tank forces are the main striking force of the ground forces. Mostly they are used together with motorized rifle units in the main areas. This type of troops is designed to perform the following main tasks:
1. In defense - the direct support of motorized riflemen in repelling the enemy’s advance, counterattacks and counterattacks.
2. In the offensive - the application of powerful blows that cut the front to great depths, the development of success, the defeat of the enemy in oncoming battles and battles.
Russian tank troops are divided into brigades and battalions, they have great firepower, resistance to the damaging factors of nuclear weapons, high maneuverability and mobility. They are able to make maximum use of the results of nuclear or fire destruction of the enemy, in a short time to achieve the ultimate goal of an operation or battle.
Combat capabilities
The tank divisions of Russia, their formations and units allow active combat operations, both day and night, in significant isolation from the main forces, to conduct raids on the rear of the enemy, destroy enemy equipment and manpower in oncoming battles and battles, and overcome radioactive zones on the move infection, as well as force water bodies. In addition, they are able to quickly create a very strong defense, as well as successfully resist the attacks of significantly superior enemy forces.
The development of the combat capabilities of this type of troops is carried out by equipping it with more advanced types of armored vehicles, which optimally combine the following most important combat qualities: high firepower, reliable protection and maneuverability. Tank units of a combined arms nature play an important role in improving the necessary organizational forms. This primarily corresponds to the content of the tactics of conducting modern military operations.
Russian tank troops: a revival after the decline?
The crisis that hit the Russian army in the 90s of the last century, of course, did not pass by tank troops. And the concern of the townsfolk wondering “how many tanks Russia has” is quite justified. After all, the nineties became literally a black page in the history of our army. Take, for example, the swift withdrawal of troops from Mongolia and Eastern Europe, when a lot of ultramodern equipment at that time was left in neighboring territories, and the one that was returned was, in fact, thrown into the mud, with consequences for the equipment. As a result, expensive cars were brought to the state of scrap metal. In addition, the personnel suffered significant damage: a huge number of very promising officers with impressive combat experience were forced to leave the armed forces.
The first “bell” for the country's leadership was the conflict in Chechnya, when hastily assembled units, often using faulty and understaffed vehicles, began to suffer serious losses. However, this tragedy did not stop the further degradation of the tank forces of Russia. The quality of personnel training left much to be desired, and the acquisition of new generation equipment was completely discontinued. The development of new models rested on the enthusiasm of designers and engineers, as well as individual military leaders. The defense complex, producing armored vehicles, either went bankrupt or reoriented to export.
The beginning of the rebirth
Battle tanks of Russia met the new century, fighting in Chechnya. The sad experience of the first campaign was taken into account, now losses among armored vehicles were significantly less. In 2000, it was first announced that a new modern tank was being created, known as the T-95, or Object 195. It was assumed that he would enter the army by 2005. However, this did not happen. The first purchases took place in 2004, but not the long-awaited T-95s entered service, but the modernized T-90As, and even that in the amount of 15 units. In 2005, 17 more cars were purchased. These modern Russian tanks were the best production models at that time, but the new century required new equipment, and the number of deliveries clearly did not meet the requirements of a huge country. Only in 2006, purchases began to be carried out in reasonable quantities, in addition, the modernization of the "old" equipment was actively carried out. However, the best tank in Russia (T-95) remained a dream: its supplies were delayed all the time.
Woe Reformers
In the re-equipment program adopted by the Moscow Region, it was described in detail how many armored vehicles needed to be modernized, how many new tanks should be manufactured. True, it was not clear which models should be produced: T-90A or T-95? As a result, the battered T-72B, which were also nicknamed the "museum" T-62, were sent to solve the Georgian conflict after two Chechen wars. Tank troops in this operation showed their best side, as a result of which the southern group received the main tank of Russia - T-90A. Probably in order to cool the militant Saakashvili.
After the events described above in the country, another army reform begins. As a result, the armored forces of Russia were reduced to the level of battalions and a few brigades. Woe-reformers refused to purchase the T-90A, the development of the new Burlak combat module was completely stopped. And, most importantly, the most promising modern tank in Russia - the T-95, - without leaving the assembly line, was sent to the scrap. However, the country's leadership changed their minds in time, the Minister of Defense was removed from his post and a new one was appointed. The result of such changes was a new serious project in tank building - the development of a new Armata platform based on the T-95 and Object 640 (Black Eagle). Armata will be a universal platform for a new generation of armored vehicles: self-propelled guns, tanks, infantry and support vehicles, as well as repair and recovery vehicles. This installation has no analogues in the world; all innovative developments of Russian design bureaus are collected here.
Still ahead
2013 was a landmark in the life of the tank forces of Russia: as shown by numerous sudden inspections, many reforms did not affect the quality of the combat training. Therefore, a strong-willed decision was made to sharply increase the norms of the allocated ammunition. In addition, much has been done to increase the prestige of this type of troops. As soon as they did not scold "Tank Biathlon", but thanks to these competitions, the citizens of our country remembered for the first time in many years that we, it turns out, still have tank troops. The Kantemirov division was recreated. And currently there is an active re-equipment and modernization of military vehicles. Already today, albeit experienced, the first samples of the Armata family have already been made.
However, unfortunately, it is too early to talk about the results. We can only note the positive dynamics. Answering readers' question about what tanks are in service with Russia today, it remains only to state the fact that so far the basis of our aircraft is the fleet of old T-72B and T-80BV vehicles. Much remains to be done in order for our army to become truly modern.
Tanks in service with Russia: T-64
This model was designed back in 1960, its mass production began in 1963, and it was adopted into service in 1967. The design of this machine used an improved version of the traditional layout scheme of tower equipment with a rear engine compartment and separate placement of crew members. These tanks were equipped with a rifled 100-mm cannon with an ammunition load of 50 shells. Monolithic differentiated armor, a two-stroke diesel power unit, and a mechanical transmission were used. The frontal elements of the tower and the body are able to withstand a direct hit by a 100 mm armor-piercing projectile from a distance of one kilometer. As you can see, these tanks have been in the arsenal of Russia for 47 years, and this is already a deadline. At one time, the T-60 was an excellent representative of the tank family and could compete with vehicles that are in service with the NATO bloc, but time is running out and the technical fleet needs modernization, and urgent ones.
Battle tank T-72
Serial production of the T-72A lasted from 1979 to 1985 at the plant in Nizhny Tagil. Later, an export version was launched at its base - the T-72M tank, and then its further modification - T-72M1. After 1985, the modernized T-72B and its export version of the T-72S got into mass production. The last tank to this day reliably serves in our army. In addition, it was massively exported to Eastern Europe, India, Finland, Yugoslavia, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait and Algeria. As you can see, the geography of distribution is very extensive. He showed excellent results in various climatic conditions, and, despite his solid age, continues to serve in different parts of our planet. Diesel power units were installed on it, capable of speeds up to 65 km / h, and very reliable 125 mm guns. The weight of the car was 41 tons. Based on this tank, the BREM-1, the IMR-2 engineering vehicle, and the MTU-72 bridge layers were developed.
Battle tank T-80
This car was adopted in 1976. She became the world's first production model with a main power unit based on a gas turbine engine. The development of the system began in 1955. Finally, the gas turbine engine was put into service in 1968. It was a power unit, the power of which was 1000 liters. from. The design of the combat vehicle uses elements worked out and tested on the T-64A: automatic loader, gun, ammunition, individual components and mechanisms of the control system for armor protection and fire. The new unit has led to an increase in the mass of the tank, and, consequently, to a change in dynamic characteristics. As a result, the designers had to design a new chassis: tracks with treadmills covered with rubber, hydraulic shock absorbers and torsion shafts with improved performance, track and support rollers, and drive wheels.
T-90 battle tank
This best Russian tank is an advanced T-72B. Adopted in 1993. The appearance of the machine was caused by the need to modernize (taking into account the Persian Gulf war) existing models of equipment, as well as to reorient production to exclusively Russian components, because after the collapse of the USSR, part of the defense complex remained abroad. These modern Russian tanks have a very low profile. The frontal armor of a round flat tower is reinforced with tiled armor of the active type of the second generation. The cockpit of the driver is located in front of the body. A sunroof and an observation system with wide-angle optics are placed above it. The bow is equipped with a special acute-angled oval. The tank is equipped with a 125 mm gun equipped with a heat-insulating casing.
How many tanks do Russia have?
Now let's stop wearying the reader and move on to the main question of this article. Consider the number of tanks in Russia, and give the top 10 countries for this parameter. It turns out that our country is the absolute leader here: on the balance sheet of the Ministry of Defense there are as many as 18 177 units of the mentioned military equipment. Of these, the T-72B tanks (7144 units), T-80 (4744 units) and T-64 (4000 units) form the basis. In addition, the T-62 (689 vehicles) and the T-55 (1,200 tanks) are in service. Least of all in the tank troops are armored vehicles of the new generation - T-90, there are only 400 units. Agree that this is a negligible figure for such a large army. Let's hope that in the near future the situation will continue to change, and in a few years the statistics will change for the better.
Now let's see which country takes the second place in our ranking. This is the United States - Russia's main rival in the political arena. The US Army has 9,125 tanks, of which 8,725 M1 Ambrams units. As you can see, the US military is a conservative - the basis of their tank troops is only one model. Third place in the ranking is occupied by our eastern neighbor and strategic partner - China, which is armed with 8500 units of armored vehicles, of which 500 are Type-99 tanks. The three leaders far divorced from their pursuers. So, the fourth place is taken, oddly enough, Syria with its 4750 cars, most of which have a proud inscription: "Made in Russia". The following are in the list: Turkey - 3763, India - 3569, Egypt - 3380, DPRK - 3300, Israel - 3283, and South Korea closes the top ten - 2823 units.
And why all this?
From the above data it can be seen that the number of tanks in Russia significantly exceeds the number of military units of the closest competitor (almost twice). A pacifist-liberal reader may burst into an angry tirade about the wasted money (to create and maintain such a lot of “iron”). However, in response, he can be reminded of the ancient wisdom with which we started this article: “If you want peace, get ready for war!” Indeed, it is dangerous to be weak in the modern world. If you do not periodically give neighbors "tough", then you can lose, if not all, then a lot. So, our strategic partner, China, is sleeping and sees how to snatch Siberia right up to the Urals, and the NATO bloc is already knocking on our doors from the West.
By the way, in connection with the latest events in Ukraine, we can slightly expand our review. It turns out that there are 2522 tanks on the balance of the Ministry of Defense of Kiev, and this is the eleventh position in our rating. True, these statistics were taken even before the start of the conflict from our neighbors, so after the loss of Crimea and the outbreak of hostilities in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, this figure may decrease. After all, even in official sources controlled by Kiev, military losses were reported among armored vehicles and even the transfer of some military to the side of the rebels. Well, okay, enough about the sad, back to Mother Russia.
The future of tank building
As previously reported, the Russian army is developing the latest Armata system, which will become the basis for the creation of new types of armored vehicles. In this regard, from 2015 it is planned to begin the most serious modernization of mechanized and armored forces, and from next year - the introduction of a new series of vehicles in all branches of our country. One of these models is the latest Russian tank T-99. This instance will be equipped with an improved version of the 125 mm gun. One of the main tasks assigned to the designers is to reduce the weight of the machine in order to increase maneuverability and mobility. In fact, on these parameters the T-95 and the “Object 195” also “burned”. After all, the main task of our tanks is to protect long land borders. Armored vehicles play a key role in maintaining military parity against any threat. It should be understood that our country is not only a vast territory, but also very diverse climatic conditions. The designers are faced with the most serious task: the creation of such equipment that can function reliably both in the conditions of the Arctic and in the southern regions of our vast Motherland. That's all these conditions and must meet the T-99. The tank (Russia has always been distinguished by “kulibins” capable of solving any seemingly impossible task) of the new generation is almost ready for mass production. As stated by the Ministry of Defense, the first copies will be shown to the public at the parade on May 9, 2015. So it remains to wait and hope that the country will not be covered by another political crisis that can destroy any undertakings.