T-72 tanks modernized by Ukrainians appear on the front line
The equipment was handed over to the 22nd separate mechanized brigade, which had just been created.
The 22nd Brigade’s video on social media shows T-72 tanks with dynamic protection. These vehicles were decommissioned and modernized at Ukrainian defense plants. This tank has never been shown in this modernization before.
The 22nd Brigade’s press service published a video of the vehicles being run-in.
Prior to the full-scale Russian invasion, these vehicles were extremely rare in the ranks of the Armed Forces. Most of them were in a non-operational state in the storage of armored repair plants, Militarny reports. However, with the outbreak of hostilities, they began to be restored and returned to service.
The combat vehicles handed over to the 22nd Brigade have a number of significant differences compared to the original 1973 T-72 Ural tank.
The first was the appearance of Kontakt-1 dynamic protection containers on the sides and in the front projection of the tank’s hull and turret. Anti-stimulus grilles were also installed in the aft part of the sides.
The installed protective equipment is extremely necessary for this vehicle due to the outdated armor protection that no longer meets modern requirements. The hull sections covered by dynamic protection in the front projection should now be able to withstand the majority of the cumulative grenades used at the front, such as RPG-7 and Soviet Fagot ATGMs.
Another important difference was the disappearance of the Luna infrared searchlight from the tank’s turret. It served as a backlight for night vision devices integrated into the gunner’s sight and the commander’s observation device.
This is a standard solution for tank modernization, when old Soviet sights are replaced with modern counterparts that can operate in passive mode. It is likely that the old TPN-1-49-23 gunner’s night sight was replaced by a Ukrainian analog with a thermal imaging sensor.
As part of the modernization, the vehicles also received a standard set of communication equipment, represented by a modern digital radio station “Libid-K-2RB”, as well as a set of GLONASS/GPS navigation equipment “Basalt”.
It is worth noting that in all modernized vehicles, two of the six support rollers on each side are borrowed from older T-55/T-62 tanks, presumably taken from old stocks at tank repair plants.
The video also shows a “mobilization” version of the modernized Ukrainian T-72AMT tank as a tank platoon commander.
The post-war modernization of the old Soviet T-72As focused on improving the vehicle’s armor, mobility, and firepower. The updated vehicle received a new engine and sighting devices.
