What tanks are currently in service with Russia. Panzer Division Modern Panzer Troops

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

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

The battle tank appeared in the First World War. It was designed to overcome miles of trenches and obstacles along the Western Front. For the first time, fighting vehicles of the British and Germans fought among themselves. Their strength continues to be the main symbol of power for any modern land army. It is not so easy to realistically calculate how many tanks there are in Russia. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation does not disseminate such information. So you can only use expert assessments, 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 the international online publication Global Firepower (GFP).

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

Do not be surprised that there are much more tanks in Russia than in any country in the world. The Russian Federation has the longest land border. Not to mention the fact that the wars of the last two centuries the country has waged mainly on its own territory. The RF Armed Forces relied heavily on tank troops.

Despite advances made on the modern battlefield, the battle tank remains the main spearhead for ground offensive units that combine firepower and mobility in a single system (Global Firepower).

At the heart of the Russian tank forces are vehicles that have proven themselves in all the notable conflicts of recent decades. The T-14 "Armata" will be adopted very soon, the latest model of armored vehicles is already undergoing 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.

"Type 96" prevails in the People's Liberation Army of China.

Number of tanks in Russia

About the T-72, T-80 and T-90 vehicles, which form the basis of the armament of the Russian army, the official website of the Ministry of Defense reports. 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 stored in reserve, but there are a lot of them - about 8 thousand (about 2.8 thousand of them T-55, up to 2.3 thousand - T-64, 1.6 thousand - T-62).

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

But the earlier generations of the 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 assess the equipment of this military equipment in different ways. It can be confidently stated that no one, except for the military department, will name their real number.

Table 2. Number of tanks in Russia

Source: Globalfirepower, Military Industrial Courier

Not all of the almost 64 thousand vehicles that the USSR had in the troops and in storage at the beginning of 1990 survived the upheavals of the 90s. Significant quantities of them were handed over to the governments of the newly formed independent states. The Russian army has been reduced. In addition, the federal government could not contain too much technology.

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. Military equipment in 1941-1945, thousand units

Modern battle tanks of Russia and the world photos, videos, pictures to 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 a museum exhibit. And all for 10 years! Following in the footsteps of Jane's reference book and not considering this combat vehicle (quite by the way, curious in design and fiercely discussed at the time), which formed the basis of the tank fleet of the last quarter of the 20th century, the authors considered it unfair.

Films about tanks where there is still no alternative to this type of armament of the ground forces. The tank was and probably will remain a modern weapon for a long time due to the ability to combine such seemingly contradictory qualities as high mobility, powerful weapons and reliable crew protection. These unique qualities of tanks continue to be constantly improved, and the experience and technologies accumulated over decades predetermine new frontiers of combat properties and achievements of the military-technical level. In the age-old confrontation "projectile - armor", as practice shows, protection from a projectile is being improved more and more, acquiring new qualities: activity, multilayeredness, self-protection. 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 perform quick maneuvers on impassable roads, contaminated terrain, can “walk” through the territory occupied by the enemy, seize a decisive bridgehead, induce panic in the rear and suppress the enemy with fire and caterpillars . The war of 1939-1945 became the most difficult test for all mankind, since almost all countries of the world were involved in it. It was the battle of the titans - the most unique period that theorists argued about in the early 1930s and during which tanks were used in large numbers by almost all the warring parties. At this time, a "check for lice" and a deep reform of the first theories of the use of tank troops took place. And it is the Soviet tank troops 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 of its European territories and having difficulty recruiting tanks for the defense of Moscow, be able to launch powerful tank formations on the battlefield already in 1943? This book, which tells about the development of Soviet tanks "in the days of testing ", from 1937 to the beginning of 1943. When writing the book, materials from the archives of Russia and private collections of tank builders were used. There was a period in our history that was deposited in my memory with some depressing feeling. It began with the return of our first military advisers from Spain, and stopped only at the beginning of forty-third, - said the former general designer of self-propelled guns L. Gorlitsky, - there was some kind of pre-stormy state.

Tanks of the Second World War, it was M. Koshkin, almost underground (but, of course, with the support of "the wisest of the wise leader of all peoples"), who was able to create that tank that, a few years later, would shock German tank generals. And what’s more, he didn’t just create it, the designer managed to prove to these stupid military men that it was his T-34 that they needed, and not just another wheeled-tracked “highway”. The author is in slightly different positions that he formed after meeting with the pre-war documents of the RGVA and RGAE. Therefore, working on this segment of the history of the Soviet tank, the author will inevitably contradict something "generally accepted". This work describes the history of Soviet tank building in the most difficult years - from the beginning of a radical restructuring of all the activities of design bureaus and people's commissariats in general, during a frantic race to equip new tank formations of the Red Army, the transfer of industry to wartime rails and evacuation.

Tanks Wikipedia the author wants to express his special gratitude for the help in the selection and processing of materials to M. Kolomiyets, and also to thank A. Solyankin, I. Zheltov and M. Pavlov, the authors of the reference publication "Domestic armored vehicles. XX century. 1905 - 1941" because this book helped to understand the fate of some projects, unclear before. I would also like to recall with gratitude those conversations with Lev Izraelevich Gorlitsky, the former Chief Designer of UZTM, which helped to take a fresh look at the entire history of the Soviet tank during the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. Today, for some reason, it is customary to talk about 1937-1938 in our country. only from the point of view of repressions, 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. Gorlinkogo.

Soviet tanks, a detailed assessment of them at that time sounded from many lips. Many old people recalled that it was from the events in Spain that it became clear to everyone that the war was getting 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, the Soviet tank began to turn from a "mechanized cavalry" (in which one of its combat qualities protruded by reducing others) into a balanced combat vehicle, which simultaneously had powerful weapons, sufficient to suppress most targets, good cross-country ability and mobility with armor protection, capable of maintaining its combat capability when shelling a potential enemy with the most massive anti-tank weapons.

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

The latest 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 step ... "This problem could be solved in two ways: First, by increasing the thickness of the armor plates and, secondly," by using increased armor resistance". It is easy to guess that the second way was considered more promising, since the use of specially hardened armor plates, or even two-layer armor, could, while maintaining the same thickness (and the mass of the tank as a whole), increase its resistance by 1.2-1.5 It was this path (the use of specially hardened armor) that was chosen at that moment to create new types of tanks.

Tanks of the USSR at the dawn of tank production, armor was most massively used, the properties of which were identical in all directions. Such armor was called homogeneous (homogeneous), and from the very beginning of the armor business, the craftsmen strove to create just such armor, because uniformity ensured stability of characteristics and simplified processing. However, at the end of the 19th century, it was noticed that when the surface of the 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. So heterogeneous (heterogeneous) armor came into use.

In 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 result) to an increase in brittleness. Thus, the most durable armor, other things being equal, turned out to be very fragile and often pricked even from bursts of high-explosive fragmentation shells. Therefore, at the dawn of armor production in the manufacture of homogeneous sheets, the task of the metallurgist was to achieve the highest possible hardness of the armor, but at the same time not to lose its elasticity. Surface-hardened by saturation with carbon and silicon armor was called cemented (cemented) and was considered at that time a panacea for many ills. But cementation is a complex, harmful process (for example, processing a hot plate with a jet of lighting gas) and relatively expensive, and therefore its development in a series required high costs and an increase in production culture.

Tank of the war years, 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 still, it was expected that a tank protected by 15-20 mm cemented armor would be equivalent in terms of protection to the same, but covered with 22-30 mm sheets, without a significant increase in mass.
Also, by the mid-1930s, in tank building, they learned how to harden the surface of relatively thin armor plates by uneven hardening, known since the end of the 19th 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 shoot videos up to half the thickness of the slab, which was, of course, worse than carburizing, since despite the fact that the hardness of the surface layer was higher than during carburizing, 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 somewhat more than carburizing. But the hardening technology that was used for sea armor of large thicknesses was no longer suitable for relatively thin tank armor. Before the war, this method was almost never used in our serial tank building due to technological difficulties and relatively high cost.

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

Types of tanks photo so that even one hit of a projectile reliably disables an anti-tank gun or machine gun; and thirdly, to increase the penetrating effect of a tank gun on the armor of a potential enemy, since, using the example of French tanks (already having an armor thickness of the order of 40-42 mm), it became clear that the armor protection of foreign combat vehicles tends to be significantly increased. There was a right way to do this - increasing the caliber of tank guns and simultaneously increasing the length of their barrel, since a long gun of a larger caliber fires heavier projectiles at a higher muzzle velocity over a greater distance without correcting the pickup.

The best tanks in the world had a large caliber cannon, also had a large breech, significantly more weight and increased recoil reaction. And this required an increase in the mass of the entire tank as a whole. In addition, the placement of large shots in the closed volume of the tank led to a decrease in the ammunition load.
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 an 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 at liberty, who from the beginning of 1935 tried to bring his new 76.2-mm semi-automatic single gun L-10, and the team of plant No. 8 slowly brought 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 was accepted ... "In fact, none of the five air-cooled tank diesel engines, which were worked on in 1933-1937 in the engine department of plant No. 185, was brought to the series. Moreover, despite the decisions on the highest levels of the transition in tank building exclusively to diesel engines, this process was held back by a number of factors.Of course, diesel had significant efficiency.It consumed less fuel per unit of power per hour.Diesel fuel is less prone to ignition, since the flash point of its vapors was very high.

Even the most advanced of them, the MT-5 tank engine, required reorganization of engine production for serial production, which was expressed in the construction of new workshops, the supply of advanced foreign equipment (there were no machine tools of the required accuracy yet), financial investments and strengthening personnel. It was planned that in 1939 this diesel engine with a capacity of 180 hp. will go to mass-produced tanks and artillery tractors, but due to investigative work to find out the causes of tank engine accidents, which lasted from April to November 1938, these plans were not fulfilled. 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 with specific indicators that suited the tank builders quite well. Tank tests were carried out according to a new methodology, specially developed at the insistence of the new head of the ABTU D. Pavlov in relation to combat service in wartime. The basis of the tests was a run of 3-4 days (at least 10-12 hours of daily non-stop traffic) 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, "bathing" in the water with an additional load, simulating an infantry landing, after which the tank was sent for examination.

Super tanks online after the improvement work seemed to remove all claims from the tanks. And the general course 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 the tests, numerous minor defects again appeared in the tanks. The chief designer N. Astrov was suspended from work and was under arrest and investigation for several months. In addition, the tank received a new improved protection turret. The modified layout made it possible to place on the tank a larger ammunition load for a machine gun and two small fire extinguishers (before there were no fire extinguishers on small tanks of the Red Army).

US tanks as part of modernization work, on one serial 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 good enough results in tests, and therefore the torsion bar suspension did not immediately pave its way in the course of further work. Obstacles to be overcome: rises not less than 40 degrees, vertical wall 0.7 m, overlapping ditch 2-2.5 m.

YouTube about tanks work on the production of prototypes of D-180 and D-200 engines for reconnaissance tanks is 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 10-1), as well as the amphibious tank version (factory designation 102 or 10-2), are a compromise solution, since it is not possible to fully meet the requirements of the ABTU.Variant 101 was a tank weighing 7.5 tons with a hull according to the type of hull, but with vertical side sheets of case-hardened armor 10-13 mm thick, because: "Sloped sides, causing serious weighting of the suspension and hull, require a significant (up to 300 mm) broadening of the hull, not to mention the complication of the tank.

Video reviews of tanks in which the power unit of the tank was planned to be based on the 250-horsepower MG-31F aircraft engine, which was mastered by the industry for agricultural aircraft and gyroplanes. Gasoline of the 1st grade was placed in a tank under the floor of the fighting compartment and in additional onboard gas tanks. The armament fully met the task and consisted of coaxial machine guns DK caliber 12.7 mm and DT (in the second version of the project even ShKAS appears) caliber 7.62 mm. The combat weight of a tank with a torsion bar suspension was 5.2 tons, with a spring suspension - 5.26 tons. The tests were carried out from July 9 to August 21 according to the methodology approved in 1938, with special attention paid to tanks.

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 stock. 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 troops.

The publication writes that the tank will be ready for full-fledged service no earlier than 2019. In the meantime, most of the 2700 combat-ready tanks in the Russian army are T-72B3 and T-80U.

Developed in the mid-1950s, 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-ki. Now these tanks are not used by the Russian military, but about 2800 T-55s are still stored in warehouses.

Produced from 1961 to 1975, the T-62 tank is armed with a smoothbore gun and is capable of speeds up to 50 km/h on the highway and up to 27 km/h on 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. Now there are about 2500 T-62s of various modifications in storage.

The T-64 is equipped with a powerful 125 mm smoothbore gun 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 is protected by combined armor in the frontal projection. These tanks served for a relatively short time and were sent to the reserve. In total, there are about 2,000 of these tanks of various modifications in storage.

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

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

The T-80 could be accelerated to 80 km / h, the tank just flew along the highway. Now 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 features a new 1,130 horsepower engine and a more advanced fire control system. The tank became 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 conditions sensors, and an automatic target tracking machine. In total, the Russian army is armed with 1900 T-72s, another 7000 are in reserve.

T-14 "Armata"

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

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

This tank is technologically more advanced than any Russian or Western, 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.

MOSCOW, edition42.TUT.BY
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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 stock. 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 troops.

The publication writes that the tank will be ready for full-fledged service no earlier than 2019. In the meantime, most of the 2700 combat-ready tanks in the Russian army are T-72B3 and T-80U.

Developed in the mid-1950s, 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-ki. Now these tanks are not used by the Russian military, but about 2800 T-55s are still stored in warehouses.

Produced from 1961 to 1975, the T-62 tank is armed with a smoothbore gun and is capable of speeds up to 50 km/h on the highway and up to 27 km/h on 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. Now there are about 2500 T-62s of various modifications in storage.

The T-64 is equipped with a powerful 125 mm smoothbore gun 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 is protected by combined armor in the frontal projection. These tanks served for a relatively short time and were sent to the reserve. In total, there are about 2,000 of these tanks of various modifications in storage.

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

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

The T-80 could be accelerated to 80 km / h, the tank just flew along the highway. Now 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 features a new 1,130 horsepower engine and a more advanced fire control system. The tank became 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 conditions sensors, and an automatic target tracking machine. In total, the Russian army is armed with 1900 T-72s, another 7000 are in reserve.

T-14 "Armata"

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

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

This tank is technologically more advanced than any Russian or Western, 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.

MOSCOW, edition42.TUT.BY
12