T-72BU / T-90 (Obiekt 188) Tank - Origins
The imposition of the "defense sufficiency" doctrine in the late Gorbachev years, followed by the collapse of the USSR in 1991, had catastrophic effects on the Russian tank industry. T-80U production in St. Petersburg (Leningrad Kirov Plant) ceased in 1990 and was then undertaken at the Omsk October Revolution Transmash Plant alone. By the mid-1990s, only one other tank plant was active, the Ural Railcar Plant (Uralvagonzavod) in Nizhni-Tagil, the home of the T-72.
In 1992, the Russian defense ministry made it clear that it could no longer afford to buy two main battle tanks simultaneously. Russian officials stated that they wished to cut production down to a single type, either the T-72 or the T-80.
Since both the "quality" T-80U and the cheaper "quantity" T-72B were each being built at one plant, and each plant was critical to the economy of the city it was in, the Government gave small orders to both. Omsk built five T-80Us and Nizhni Tagil 15 T-72s, and both built more against the hope of winning large export orders.
Nizhni Tagil had built a few T-72BMs, T-72Bs upgraded with a third generation add-on Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) called Kontakt-5, which was already in service on T-80U. The T-72 had traditionally been fitted with less sophisticated fire controls than the T-80 since it was intended only for second-line Soviet units and for export. In order to make the T-72 more competitive with the T-80, the Nizhni Tagil design bureau decided to simply adapt the T-80U turret features including the new Agava fire control system to the T-72 chassis. The result was the T-72BU, later redesignated the T-90.
To further improve the T-72's export prospects and its chances of being selected as Russia's sole production MBT, the T-80U's more sophisticated fire control system was also added to produce a vehicle designated T-72BU. Finally, since worldwide news coverage during Desert Storm had firmly established the image of the T-72 as a burning Iraqi tank, the new model was renamed T-90.
The Russian defense ministry planned to choose between the T-80U and the T-90 sometime in 1994. Although the T-90 was publicly displayed on Tanker's Day in 1993 and 1994 at Kubinka, it had not been displayed at major arms shows, not even Russian shows such as the 1993 and 1994 shows at Nizhni Novgorod. At the 1994 Nizhni Novgorod show, there was no descriptive material or placards about the T-90, and articles in the Russian press about Uralvagonzavod no longer mentioned it.
According to 01 January 1994 CFE count, there was only one T-90, located at the Moscow-based Armored Troops Academy. On 1 January 1995 there were two T-90 protoypes located at the Armored Troops Academy and the Kazan Higher Tank Command School. Nizhni Tagil also developed another new tank design called Obiekt 190, but details of this vehicle were lacking.
The Russian Defense Ministry made a selection of a single MBT in 1995. The fighting in Grozny had been shown around the world and the reputation of Russian tanks was sullied. Although many casualities were due to bad tactics and many T-72s were also lost, it was the knocked-out T-80s which made an impression. More had been expected of the "quality" M-80 MBT. This is alleged to have tipped the balance against the T-80 in the selection. The T-80 was already more expensive and its delicate, fuel-hungry turbine engine was still giving problems. In January 1996, Col.-Gen. Aleksandr Galkin, Chief of the Main Armor Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, announced that the T-90 had been selected as the sole Russian MBT.
The T-90 went into low-level production in 1993, based on a prototype designated as the T-88. The T-90 was developed by the Kartsev-Venediktov Design Bureau at the Vagonka Works in Nizhniy Tagil. Initially thought by Western observers to be an entirely new design, the production model is in fact based on the T-72BM, with some added features from the T-80 series. The T-90 features a new generation of armor on its hull and turret. Two variants, the T-90S and T-90E, have been identified as possible export models. Plans called for all earlier models to be replaced with T-90s by the end of 1997, subject to funding availability. By mid-1996 some 107 T-90s had gone into service in the Far Eastern Military District.
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