What tanks are currently in service with Russia? Tank division Modern tank forces

Economist, mathematician. 30 years of experience in government statistics. Date: June 7, 2019. Reading time 6 min.

The number of tanks in the Russian Federation this year, according to Globalfirepower’s estimate of 21.9 thousand, is more than in other countries of the world. The Ministry of Defense predicts that by 2027 the share new technology up to 70%.

A battle tank appeared in the First world war. It was designed to overcome miles of trenches and obstacles along the Western Front. They fought each other for the first time combat vehicles British and Germans. Their strength continues to be the main symbol of power for any modern ground army. It’s not so easy to actually calculate how many tanks there are in Russia. The Russian Ministry of Defense does not disseminate such information. So you can only use expert estimates, data published in the report “Russia’s Military Posture – Ground Forces Order of Battle” by the American ISW ​​(Institute for the Study of War) and an international online publication Global Firepower(GFP).

The potential of the Russian Federation among the strongest armies in the world

It should not be surprising that Russia has many more tanks than any country in the world. The Russian Federation has the longest land border. Not to mention the fact that the country fought wars of the last two centuries mainly on its own territory. The RF Armed Forces relied heavily on tank forces.

Despite the advances made on the modern battlefield, the battle tank remains the main spearhead of attack for ground offensive units, combining firepower and mobility in unified system(Global Firepower).

The Russian tank forces are based on vehicles that have proven themselves in all significant conflicts of recent decades. Very soon the T-14 “Armata” will be put into service, newest model armored vehicles are already passing military tests.

The US M1 Abrams have been in service for a little less than a quarter of a century – the vast majority in the US Army.

The Type 96 is prevalent in the People's Liberation Army of China.

Number of tanks in the Russian Federation

The official website of the Ministry of Defense reports about the T-72, T-80 and T-90 vehicles, which form the basis of the armament of the Russian Army. True, the quantitative parameters of each model, of course, are not mentioned. According to independent sources, there are no more than 14 thousand of them.

There is no data here about the outdated, but still combat-capable T-55, T-62 and T-64. They are kept in reserve, but there are a lot of them - about 8 thousand (about 2.8 thousand of them are T-55, up to 2.3 thousand - T-64, 1.6 thousand - T-62).

The new generation armored vehicle "Armata" with its release launched a course towards enhanced equipment military units new products About 2,300 Armatas will appear in the military according to the plans of the Russian Ministry of Defense. By the way, the production vehicles received for testing differ from the previously presented prototypes: a number of components and assemblies have been replaced, and new systems have also appeared.

But the earlier generations of T-80 and T-90 armored vehicles have not completely outlived their usefulness.

Table 1. Characteristics of armored vehicles of the Russian Army, thousand units.

Source: "Army Bulletin"

A variety of sources give different assessments of the equipment of this military equipment. We can confidently say that no one except the military department will name their actual number.

Table 2. Number of tanks in Russia

Source: Globalfirepower, Military Industrial Courier

Not all of the nearly 64 thousand vehicles that the USSR had in service and in storage at the beginning of 1990 survived the upheavals of the 90s. Significant quantities of them were transferred to the governments of the newly formed independent states. The Russian army has shrunk. In addition, the federal government could not maintain too much equipment.

By the mid-2000s, the army had about 22-23 thousand tanks, and by the beginning of the 2010s this number gradually decreased. Moreover, the bulk of the cars are in conservation.

Since the appearance of the first Russian “Tsar Tank” in 1915 with a three-wheeled mechanism, the models of Soviet armored vehicles have undergone significant changes.

Table 3. Combat vehicles in 1941-1945, thousand units

Modern battle tanks Russia and the world photos, videos, pictures watch online. This article gives an idea of ​​the modern tank fleet. It is based on the principle of classification used in the most authoritative reference book to date, but in a slightly modified and improved form. And if the latter in its original form can still be found in the armies of a number of countries, then others have already become museum pieces. And just for 10 years! Follow in the footsteps of Jane’s reference book and not consider this combat vehicle (very interesting in design and fiercely discussed in its time), which formed the basis of the tank fleet last quarter XX century, the authors considered it unfair.

Films about tanks where there is still no alternative to this type of weapon ground forces. The tank was and will probably remain for a long time modern weapons thanks to the ability to combine such seemingly contradictory qualities as high mobility, powerful weapons and reliable protection crew. These unique qualities of tanks continue to be constantly improved, and the experience and technology accumulated over decades predetermine new frontiers in combat properties and achievements of the military-technical level. In the eternal confrontation between “projectile and armor”, as practice shows, protection against projectiles is increasingly being improved, acquiring new qualities: activity, multi-layeredness, self-defense. At the same time, the projectile becomes more accurate and powerful.

Russian tanks are specific in that they allow you to destroy the enemy from a safe distance, have the ability to make quick maneuvers on off-road, contaminated terrain, can “walk” through territory occupied by the enemy, seize a decisive bridgehead, cause panic in the rear and suppress the enemy with fire and tracks . The war of 1939-1945 became the most ordeal for all humanity, since almost all countries of the world were involved in it. It was a clash of the titans - the most unique period that theorists argued about in the early 1930s and during which tanks were used in large quantities virtually all warring parties. At this time, a “lice test” and a deep reform of the first theories of the use of tank forces took place. And it is the Soviet tank forces that are most affected by all this.

Tanks in battle that became a symbol of the past war, the backbone of the Soviet armored forces? Who created them and under what conditions? How did the USSR, having lost most their European territories and having difficulty recruiting tanks for the defense of Moscow, was able to release powerful tank formations onto the battlefields already in 1943? This book, which tells about the development of Soviet tanks “during the testing days,” from 1937 to the beginning of 1943, is intended to answer these questions When writing the book, materials from Russian archives and private collections of tank builders were used. There was a period in our history that remained in my memory with some kind of depressing feeling. It began with the return of our first military advisers from Spain, and only stopped at the beginning of forty-three,” said former general designer of self-propelled guns L. Gorlitsky, “some kind of pre-storm state was felt.

Tanks of the Second World War It was M. Koshkin, almost underground (but, of course, with the support of “the wisest of the wise leaders of all nations”), who was able to create the tank that a few years later would shock the German tank generals. And not only that, he not only created it, the designer managed to prove to these military fools that it was his T-34 that they needed, and not just another wheeled-tracked "motor vehicle." The author is in slightly different positions, which formed in him after meeting the pre-war documents from the Russian State Military Academy and the Russian State Academy of Economics. Therefore, working on this segment of the history of the Soviet tank, the author will inevitably contradict something “generally accepted.” this work describes the story Soviet tank building in the most difficult years - from the beginning of a radical restructuring of all activities design bureaus and the People's Commissariats in general, during the frantic race to equip new tank formations of the Red Army, transfer industry to wartime rails and evacuation.

Tanks Wikipedia the author would like to express his special gratitude to M. Kolomiets for his help in selecting and processing materials, and also thank A. Solyankin, I. Zheltov and M. Pavlov, the authors of the reference publication “Domestic armored vehicles. XX century 1905 - 1941", since this book helped to understand the fate of some projects, which was unclear before. I would also like to remember with gratitude those conversations with Lev Izraelevich Gorlitsky, the former chief designer of UZTM, which helped to take a new look at the entire history of the Soviet tank during the Great Patriotic War Patriotic War Soviet Union. For some reason today it is common for us to talk about 1937-1938. only from the point of view of repression, but few people remember that it was during this period that those tanks were born that became legends of the wartime...” From the memoirs of L.I. Gorlinky.

Soviet tanks detailed assessment they were heard from many lips at that time. Many old people recalled that it was from the events in Spain that it became clear to everyone that the war was getting closer and closer to the threshold and it was Hitler who would have to fight. In 1937, mass purges and repressions began in the USSR and against the backdrop of these difficult events soviet tank began to transform from “mechanized cavalry” (in which one of its fighting qualities was emphasized at the expense of others) into a balanced fighting machine, possessing at the same time powerful weapons, sufficient to suppress most targets, good maneuverability and mobility with armor protection, capable of maintaining its combat effectiveness when fired upon by the most widespread anti-tank weapons of a potential enemy.

It was recommended to add large tanks only special tanks– floating, chemical. The brigade now had 4 individual battalions 54 tanks each and was strengthened by the transition from three-tank platoons to five-tank ones. In addition, D. Pavlov justified the refusal to form three additional mechanized corps in addition to the four existing mechanized corps in 1938, believing that these formations were immobile and difficult to control, and most importantly, they required a different rear organization. The tactical and technical requirements for promising tanks, as expected, were adjusted. In particular, in a letter dated December 23 to the head of the design bureau of plant No. 185 named after. CM. Kirov new boss demanded that the armor of new tanks be strengthened so that at a distance of 600-800 meters (effective range).

The newest tanks in the world, when designing new tanks, it is necessary to provide for the possibility of increasing the level of armor protection during modernization by at least one stage...” This problem could be solved in two ways: Firstly, by increasing the thickness of the armor plates and, secondly, by “using increased armor resistance." It is not difficult to guess that the second way was considered more promising, since the use of specially strengthened armor plates, or even two-layer armor, could, while maintaining the same thickness (and the mass of the tank as a whole), increase its durability by 1.2-1.5 It was this path (the use of especially hardened armor) that was chosen at that moment to create new types of tanks.

USSR tanks at the dawn tank production The most widely used armor was the properties of which were identical in all directions. Such armor was called homogeneous (homogeneous), and from the very beginning of armor making, craftsmen sought to create just such armor, because homogeneity ensured stability of characteristics and simplified processing. However, at the end of the 19th century, it was noticed that when the surface of an armor plate was saturated (to a depth of several tenths to several millimeters) with carbon and silicon, its surface strength increased sharply, while the rest of the plate remained viscous. This is how heterogeneous (non-uniform) armor came into use.

For military tanks, the use of heterogeneous armor was very important, since an increase in the hardness of the entire thickness of the armor plate led to a decrease in its elasticity and (as a consequence) to an increase in fragility. Thus, the most durable armor, all other things being equal, turned out to be very fragile and often chipped even from explosions high-explosive fragmentation shells. Therefore, at the dawn of armor production, when producing homogeneous sheets, the task of the metallurgist was to achieve the maximum possible hardness of the armor, but at the same time not to lose its elasticity. Surface-hardened armor with carbon and silicon saturation was called cemented (cemented) and was considered at that time a panacea for many ills. But cementation is a complex, harmful process (for example, treating a hot plate with a jet of illuminating gas) and relatively expensive, and therefore its development in a series required large expenses and improved production standards.

Wartime tanks, even in operation, these hulls were less successful than homogeneous ones, since for no apparent reason cracks formed in them (mainly in loaded seams), and it was very difficult to put patches on holes in cemented slabs during repairs. But it was still expected that a tank protected by 15-20 mm cemented armor would be equivalent in level of protection to the same one, but covered with 22-30 mm sheets, without a significant increase in weight.
Also, by the mid-1930s, tank building had learned to harden the surface of relatively thin armor plates by uneven hardening, known from late XIX century in shipbuilding as the "Krupp method". Surface hardening led to a significant increase in the hardness of the front side of the sheet, leaving the main thickness of the armor viscous.

How tanks fire video up to half the thickness of the slab, which was, of course, worse than cementation, since while the hardness of the surface layer was higher than with cementation, the elasticity of the hull sheets was significantly reduced. So the “Krupp method” in tank building made it possible to increase the strength of armor even slightly more than cementation. But the hardening technology that was used for thick naval armor was no longer suitable for relatively thin tank armor. Before the war, this method was almost not used in our serial tank building due to technological difficulties and relatively high cost.

Combat use of tanks The most proven tank gun was the 45-mm tank gun model 1932/34. (20K), and before the event in Spain it was believed that its power was quite sufficient to perform most tank tasks. But the battles in Spain showed that a 45-mm gun can only satisfy the task of fighting enemy tanks, since even shelling of manpower in the mountains and forests turned out to be ineffective, and it was only possible to disable a dug-in enemy firing point in the event of a direct hit . Firing at shelters and bunkers was ineffective due to the low high-explosive effect of a projectile weighing only about two kg.

Types of tanks photos so that even one shell hit can reliably disable anti-tank gun or machine gun; and thirdly, to increase the penetrating effect of a tank gun against the armor of a potential enemy, since in the example French tanks(already having an armor thickness of about 40-42 mm) it became clear that the armor protection of foreign combat vehicles tends to be significantly strengthened. There was a sure way for this - increasing the caliber tank guns and a simultaneous increase in the length of their barrel, since a long gun larger caliber fires heavier projectiles with greater initial speed to a greater distance without correcting the aiming.

The best tanks in the world had a large-caliber cannon, and also had big sizes breech, significantly more weight and increased recoil response. And this required an increase in the mass of the entire tank as a whole. In addition, placing large-sized rounds in a closed tank volume led to a decrease in transportable ammunition.
The situation was aggravated by the fact that at the beginning of 1938 it suddenly turned out that there was simply no one to give the order for the design of a new, more powerful tank gun. P. Syachintov and his entire design team were repressed, as well as the core of the Bolshevik design bureau under the leadership of G. Magdesiev. Only the group of S. Makhanov remained in the wild, who, since the beginning of 1935, had been trying to develop his new 76.2-mm semi-automatic single gun L-10, and the staff of plant No. 8 was slowly finishing the “forty-five”.

Photos of tanks with names; the number of developments is large, but in mass production in the period 1933-1937. not a single one has been accepted..." In fact, none of the five air-cooled tank diesel engines, work on which was carried out in 1933-1937 in the engine department of plant No. 185, was brought to series. Moreover, despite the decisions At the very top levels of the transition in tank building exclusively to diesel engines, this process was restrained by a number of factors. Of course, diesel had significant efficiency. It consumed less fuel per unit of power per hour. Diesel fuel less susceptible to fire, since the flash point of its vapor was very high.

New tanks video, even the most advanced of them, the MT-5 tank engine required for serial production reorganization of engine production, which was expressed in the construction of new workshops, supplies of advanced foreign equipment (they did not yet have their own machines with the required accuracy), financial investments and strengthening of personnel. It was planned that in 1939 this diesel would produce 180 hp. will go to production tanks and artillery tractors, but due to investigative work to determine the causes of tank engine failures, which lasted from April to November 1938, these plans were not implemented. The development of a slightly increased six-cylinder gasoline engine No. 745 with a power of 130-150 hp was also started.

Brands of tanks had specific indicators that suited tank builders quite well. The tanks were tested using a new technique, specially developed at the insistence of the new head of the ABTU D. Pavlov in relation to combat service in war time. The basis of the tests was a run of 3-4 days (at least 10-12 hours of daily non-stop movement) with a one-day break for technical inspection and restoration work. Moreover, repairs were allowed to be carried out only by field workshops without the involvement of factory specialists. This was followed by a “platform” with obstacles, “swimming” in water with an additional load that simulated an infantry landing, after which the tank was sent for inspection.

Super tanks online, after improvement work, seemed to remove all claims from the tanks. And the overall progress of the tests confirmed the fundamental correctness of the main design changes - an increase in displacement by 450-600 kg, the use of the GAZ-M1 engine, as well as the Komsomolets transmission and suspension. But during testing, numerous minor defects again appeared in the tanks. Chief designer N. Astrov was suspended from work and was in custody and under investigation for several months. In addition, the tank received a new turret with improved protection. The modified layout made it possible to place on the tank more ammunition for a machine gun and two small fire extinguishers (previously there were no fire extinguishers on small tanks of the Red Army).

US tanks as part of modernization work, on one production model of the tank in 1938-1939. The torsion bar suspension developed by the designer of the design bureau of plant No. 185 V. Kulikov was tested. It was distinguished by the design of a composite short coaxial torsion bar (long monotorsion bars could not be used coaxially). However, such a short torsion bar did not show enough in tests good results, and therefore the torsion bar suspension did not immediately pave the way for itself in the course of further work. Obstacles to overcome: climbs of at least 40 degrees, vertical wall 0.7 m, covered ditch 2-2.5 m."

YouTube about tanks, work on the production of prototypes of D-180 and D-200 engines for reconnaissance tanks are not being carried out, jeopardizing the production of prototypes." Justifying his choice, N. Astrov said that a wheeled-tracked non-floating reconnaissance aircraft (factory designation 101 or 10-1), as well as a variant of an amphibious tank (factory designation 102 or 10-1 2), are a compromise solution, since it is not possible to fully satisfy the requirements of the ABTU. Option 101 was a tank weighing 7.5 tons with a hull-like hull, but with vertical side sheets of cemented armor 10-13 mm thick, since : “The inclined sides, causing serious weighting of the suspension and hull, require a significant (up to 300 mm) widening of the hull, not to mention the complication of the tank.

Video reviews of tanks in which the tank’s power unit was planned to be based on the 250-horsepower MG-31F aircraft engine, which was being developed by industry for agricultural aircraft and gyroplanes. 1st grade gasoline was placed in a tank under the floor fighting compartment and in additional onboard gas tanks. The armament fully corresponded to the task and consisted of coaxial machine guns DK 12.7 mm caliber and DT (in the second version of the project even ShKAS is listed) 7.62 mm caliber. Combat weight tank with torsion bar suspension was 5.2 tons, with spring suspension - 5.26 tons. Tests took place from July 9 to August 21 according to the method approved in 1938, and Special attention was given to tanks.

Modern Russian tank/ Photo: Nastol.com.ua

The Business Insider portal analyzed which tanks are in service Russian army and how many combat vehicles are in stock. Despite the fact that at the parade in 2015 it was shown newest tank T-14 Armata, there are not many of these vehicles in the army.

The publication writes that the tank will be ready for full service no earlier than 2019. In the meantime, the majority of the 2,700 combat-ready tanks in the Russian army are T-72B3 and T-80U.

Developed in the mid-50s, the T-55 tank is armed with a 100 mm cannon and can accelerate to 50 km/h. Over the years of production, the tank was modernized more than once and exists today a large number of modifications of the 55. Now these tanks are not used by the Russian military, but about 2,800 T-55s are still stored in warehouses.

Produced from 1961 to 1975, the T-62 tank is armed with a smoothbore cannon and is capable of speeds of up to 50 km/h on the highway and up to 27 km/h over rough terrain.

The T-62 performed well during both Chechen campaigns and now continues to fight in Syria (Russia supplies these tanks to the army of Bashar al-Assad). In Russia, these tanks were withdrawn from service in 2011. Currently, there are about 2,500 T-62s of various modifications in storage.

The T-64 is equipped with a powerful 125 mm smoothbore cannon with an automatic loader and is capable of firing up to eight rounds per minute. The T-64 could fire Cobra guided missiles at a range of up to 4 km and was protected combined armor in frontal projection. These tanks served for a relatively short time and were sent to reserve. In total, there are about 2,000 of these tanks of various modifications in storage.

Production of this tank began in 1992. The T-90 received a 125-mm 2A46M-2 cannon, a thermal imager, a new engine, enhanced armor and other improvements. There are currently about 350 T-90/T-90A tanks in service in Russia various modifications and another 200 are kept in reserve.

The T-80U entered service in 1985. He was the first in the world serial tank with a single gas turbine power plant and anti-ballistic dynamic protection.

The T-80 could be accelerated to 80 km/h, the tank simply flew along the highway. Currently, the troops have 450 T-80U tanks, another 3000 (T-80B, T-80BV, T-80U) are in storage.

Such combat vehicles are in service with the Kantemirovskaya Division, an elite tank unit of the Russian army.

This is the most advanced version of the T-72 tank, featuring a new engine with a power of 1130 Horse power and a more advanced fire control system. The tank has become more accurate in hitting targets due to the introduction of the Sosna-U multi-channel gunner's sight, developed in Belarus, a digital ballistic computer with a set of weather sensors, and an automatic target tracking machine. In total, the Russian army has 1,900 T-72s in service, with another 7,000 in reserve.

T-14 "Armata"

The latest Russian tank, equipped with a 125 mm 2A82-1C smoothbore gun mounted in an uninhabited turret, with fully remote digital control.

Its range of hitting targets is up to 7000 meters and its rate of fire is 10-12 rounds per minute. For comparison: American tank M1A2 SEP V3 Abrams can hit targets at a range of 3.8 km, writes Business Insider.

This tank is technologically more advanced than any Russian or Western one, but the cost of its production is very high. Therefore, Business Insider doubts that Russia will be able to afford mass production T-14 "Armata".

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Modern Russian tank / Photo: Nastol.com.ua

The Business Insider portal analyzed which tanks are in service with the Russian army and how many combat vehicles are in reserve. Despite the fact that the latest T-14 Armata tank was shown at the parade in 2015, there are few of these vehicles in the army.

The publication writes that the tank will be ready for full service no earlier than 2019. In the meantime, the majority of the 2,700 combat-ready tanks in the Russian army are T-72B3 and T-80U.

Developed in the mid-50s, the T-55 tank is armed with a 100 mm cannon and can accelerate to 50 km/h. Over the years of production, the tank has been modernized more than once and today there are a large number of modifications of the 55. Now these tanks are not used by the Russian military, but about 2,800 T-55s are still stored in warehouses.

Produced from 1961 to 1975, the T-62 tank is armed with a smoothbore cannon and is capable of speeds of up to 50 km/h on the highway and up to 27 km/h over rough terrain.

The T-62 performed well during both Chechen campaigns and now continues to fight in Syria (Russia supplies these tanks to the army of Bashar al-Assad). In Russia, these tanks were withdrawn from service in 2011. Currently, there are about 2,500 T-62s of various modifications in storage.

The T-64 is equipped with a powerful 125 mm smoothbore cannon with an automatic loader and is capable of firing up to eight rounds per minute. The T-64 could fire Cobra guided missiles at a range of up to 4 km and was protected by combined armor in the frontal projection. These tanks served for a relatively short time and were sent to reserve. In total, there are about 2,000 of these tanks of various modifications in storage.

Production of this tank began in 1992. The T-90 received a 125-mm 2A46M-2 cannon, a thermal imager, a new engine, enhanced armor and other improvements. Currently in Russia there are about 350 T-90/T-90A tanks of various modifications in service and another 200 are stored in reserve.

The T-80U entered service in 1985. It was the world's first production tank with a single gas turbine power plant and anti-ballistic dynamic protection.

The T-80 could be accelerated to 80 km/h, the tank simply flew along the highway. Currently, the troops have 450 T-80U tanks, another 3000 (T-80B, T-80BV, T-80U) are in storage.

Such combat vehicles are in service with the Kantemirovskaya Division, an elite tank unit of the Russian army.

This most advanced version of the T-72 tank features a new 1,130 horsepower engine and a more advanced fire control system. The tank has become more accurate in hitting targets due to the introduction of the Sosna-U multi-channel gunner's sight, developed in Belarus, a digital ballistic computer with a set of weather sensors, and an automatic target tracking machine. In total, the Russian army has 1,900 T-72s in service, with another 7,000 in reserve.

T-14 "Armata"

The latest Russian tank, equipped with a 125 mm 2A82-1C smoothbore gun mounted in an uninhabited turret, with fully remote digital control.

Its range of hitting targets is up to 7000 meters and its rate of fire is 10-12 rounds per minute. For comparison: the American M1A2 SEP V3 Abrams tank can hit targets at a range of 3.8 km, writes Business Insider.

This tank is technologically more advanced than any Russian or Western one, but the cost of its production is very high. Therefore, Business Insider doubts that Russia will be able to afford mass production of the T-14 Armata in the near future.

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