An Offbeat Research Guide to Tank-Spotting: Soviet Origin Tanks
Europe’s largest land war since World War II broke out in February 2022, with Russia’s massed armies invading Ukraine from various directions. Led by columns of armored vehicles, the tank was always present in the early days of the invasion. This violent charge would shake up the world, changing everything from global geopolitics, to modern military preconceptions. One such preconception is the role of the tank on the modern battlefield. Some analysts claim that “the tank is dead”, while others including soldiers and tank commanders on the Ukrainian battlefield say that the tank’s role, while changed, remains a staple of the Ukrainian battlefield and a critical subject of analysis to understand the dynamics of conflict on the ground in Ukraine.
Both Russia and Ukraine operate very large tank fleets, and both sides have suffered heavy losses in their armored vehicles throughout the different stages of this conflict, with Soviet tanks making up a large bulk of those losses. Both sides also operate tanks of mostly Soviet origins, and trying to identify whether a tank is Russian or Ukrainian, let alone what specific type it is, can be difficult, especially when most of these tanks look very similar at a first glance.
This OffBeatResearch guide aims to help identify and differentiate between the most prominent and abundant tanks on the Ukrainian battlefield, focusing on the more numerous tanks of Soviet origin. While there is no specific universal definition of what a tank is, generally, it is a heavily armored military vehicle with a rotating turret hosting a large caliber cannon, running on continuous tracked treads.
The tanks this guide will be looking at also share several features amongst themselves; a 3-man crew to operate the tank, internally stored ammunition in a carousel, and a large 125mm caliber smooth-bore main gun.
Most of the Soviet tanks on the Ukrainian battlefield originate from the tank doctrine developed in the Soviet Union during and after World War II. Favoring numbers and easy mass production, most Soviet tanks were cramped and uncomfortable, having little thought put into the amenities of the crew. The ‘quantity over quality’ philosophy continued after the war’s end, and tanks such as the T-55/T54, which the Soviet Union produced during the 50s and beyond, are some of the most heavily produced tanks in human history.
The T-64
Not all Soviet tanks were designed with only mass production in mind. At the time of its introduction in the 1960s, the T-64 was a rather advanced tank. It introduced several features that later became common in all of the Soviet main battle tanks, and even in Western main battle tanks. One such feature was the smooth-bore 125mm main gun, which sported enormous firepower and was a vast improvement over the next best Soviet tank at the time: the T-62. One version or another of the 125mm smooth-bore gun was used in all the tanks mentioned in this guide. Although the specific make of the gun changed, they were all capable of firing the same base rounds. Another feature that became synonymous in not just Soviet tanks, but also most modern main battle tanks in the world, was the composite armor on the T-64. Composed of layers of different materials sandwiched between thick metals, composite armor significantly increased the survivability of a tank while keeping its weight down. Another important feature incorporated onto the T-64 that would become present in all the future Soviet main battle tanks was the automatic loading mechanism for the main gun. The auto-loader allowed for faster reloading, and reduced the number of crew needed to operate the tank to only 3; a driver, gunner, and tank commander. However, this feature was also a lethal drawback, as it situated the ammunition inside the crew compartment. This meant that any detonation of the ammunition would more often than not result in a catastrophic detonation of the ammunition inside the tank, killing the entire tank crew. This sort of catastrophic result has been seen time and time again in the war in Ukraine.
All of these advanced features made the T-64 a rather formidable machine at the time. It was also relatively lightweight and compact for the protection and firepower it brought. All of this made the T-64 significantly more expensive compared to previous mass-produced Soviet tanks such as the T-62 and T-55. The T-64 was also never exported, only being used in the Soviet military and the inherited arsenals of the independent states following the dissolution of the USSR.
Ukraine is slowly rearming its armed forces with NATO vehicles and equipment. As of the writing of this article, Ukraine also operates several NATO tanks, both modern and outdated, yet the majority of the tanks in the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) are comprised of the outdated Soviet T-64BV. The T-64 tanks were produced in huge numbers at the Malyshev tank factory in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and Ukraine received a large portion of Soviet T-64 stocks. Today, the T-64BV is Ukraine’s “workhorse” tank, and it has been seen on every front and battlefield in the ongoing war.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces operate the majority of T-64s on the Ukrainian battlefield. Russian controlled separatists also operate a substantial number of T-64BVs, which they captured from Ukrainian stocks during the unrest in 2014. Russia also owns and operates a small number of T-64s; however, it is one of the less numerous tanks in Russia’s stocks, which has disposed of or transferred most of its old T-64 stocks.
Despite its old age and numerous antiquated components, Ukraine was able to utilize the T-64 to great effect in Russia’s brutal invasion, in some cases overcoming much more technologically and numerically superior Russian forces and tanks. The battle for Chernihiv was one such example, during which Ukraine’s 1st Tank Brigade and 119th Territorial Defense Brigade withstood the onslaught of the Russian 11th Guards Air Assault Brigade, 1st Guards Tank Army, 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division, 36th Combined Arms Army, and the 41st Combined Arms Army. Despite suffering heavy losses, Ukrainian forces were able to repel the attack on Chernihiv Oblast, and by early April 2022, Russia withdrew its forces from the Oblast. The T-64BV was Ukraine’s primary tank in this battle, and it had to face much more advanced Russian tanks, including ones covered by this guide.
The T-64BV has several unique visual features that can be used to identify it. It is the only Soviet main battle tank with an infrared searchlight mounted on the left side of the turret. The infrared searchlight is an outdated piece of equipment that is not often used these days, and crews sometimes tend to remove it to add more protection. Although the beam emitted by the infrared searchlight is invisible to the naked eye, it is still visible to night vision devices. Using any form of basic night vision, including small portable night vision devices, the IR beam can be very clearly seen. This means that any tank operating an IR searchlight might become instantly more visible to infantry or vehicles with night vision capabilities.
All the T-64 tanks also share uniquely shaped road wheels – the circular metallic components on top of which the tank treads run. The T-64 road wheels are very thin compared to all other later Soviet main battle tanks. The T-64 tank tread itself is also uniquely shaped, being the only one with a circular hole.
The T-64BV is also characterized by the angular Kontakt-1 explosive reactive armor (ERA) array: ERA is a special type of armor that is designed to explode outwards to lessen the impact of incoming munitions, especially shaped charges. Soviet ERAs are modular; the ERA is mounted in the form of small bricks or sheets, and those are placed in angled arrays to cover the tank. Even though at first glance most ERA arrays look very similar, the T-64BV has good ERA coverage on the turret, with two main rows covering the front, and more covering the top and sides of the turret. The T-64 also has ERA modules placed on the sides and front of the tank hull. Compared to the T-80BV and T-72B, which also use Kontakt-1 arrays, the T-64BV can be easily recognized once you can make out the distinctions between other ERA layouts.
The T-72
The T-64 was expensive to manufacture, and also incorporated new features that were difficult to manufacture at the time. The powerplant of the T-64 (engine + transmission) had to be substantially reduced in size to fit in the small chassis of the T-64. Compared to the T-62, the T-64 engine cost almost twice as much.
All these complications led to the development of alternative Soviet main battle tanks in order to balance the cost of production. A number of projects were developed simultaneously after the creation of the T-64. One of the main outcomes of one of these projects was the T-72 main battle tank. The T-72 ended up being produced in very large numbers, and, unlike the T-64, was one of the most widely exported Soviet and Russian tanks, ultimately being used in numerous conflicts around the world.
The T-72 has become one of Russia’s most fielded tanks, with the Russian Armed Forces utilizing many variants of the T-72 across several wars and invasions. The T-72 is also one of Russia’s most used tanks in its invasion of Ukraine, with old and new versions of the T-72 fighting and burning alongside each other across all the fronts in the ongoing war. The T-72 also served as the base for the development of the T-90 series, with a very large portion of the parts and components being interchangeable between the two tanks. The earliest variants of the T-72, such as the T-72A, are too outdated to be used effectively on the Ukrainian battlefield, and have been only seen in small individual cases.
More advanced early modifications of the T-72, such as the T-72B have shown up en masse in the war in Ukraine. The T-72B is one of the more numerous tanks used by Russia in the war; while Ukraine also fields a limited number of T-72Bs it inherited from the USSR, it is nothing compared to the large fleet of T-72B that Russia has.
The main distinguishing feature on the T-72B is the ‘haphazard’ array of Kontakt-1 ERA on its turret. The T-72B also has a distinctive metal support structure attached to the main gun: this bracket is used to mount three Kontakt-1 ERA bricks, and it moves along with the gun when it elevates or depresses. However, this feature, which is being utilized as additional armor on top of stock configuration, appears on many other T-72B variants like the obr. 1989 (obr. means obrazets, and stands for type or model) and others during this conflict.
Another external feature to distinguish the T-72B is the old infrared searchlight on the right side of the turret. Similarly to the T-64BV, the IR spotlight is rarely used on the T-72B in Ukraine. The T-72B runs on the older tank tread pattern used on the T-72 series. This tread pattern had problems traversing certain terrain, and was later modified with what would be known as the “parallel track” pattern in the more modern T-72 variants. The early T-72 tank tread pattern is more “densely packed” in comparison to other Soviet tanks.
A less common but still present version of the T-72 is the T-72B obr. 1989. The obr. 1989 is mainly an up-armored T-72B, with a more advanced type of ERA, Kontakt-5, now installed in a visually distinct arrangement. Kontakt-5 is a late Soviet development meant to give ERA even more protective power. Kontakt-5, unlike Kontakt-1, has the ability to reduce the penetration power of both shaped charges as well as kinetic rounds, whereas Kontakt-1 is only effective against shaped charges. Kontakt-5 is installed on the turret as well as the tank hull. The war in Ukraine has shown that the configuration of the ERA on the tank turret is insufficient; with the gaps between the ERA modules being large enough to hit with modern munitions, negating their effect. The T-72B obr. 1989 still retains the old tank tread pattern, as well as the archaic infrared searchlight. Russia fields a limited number of T-72B obr. 1989, and is the only country which originally had these tanks. Ukraine captured a number of obr. 1989 during Russia’s full scale invasion, and continues to use the ones it was able to repair.
The T-72B obr. 1989 was further modernized, and variants like the T-72B3 arose. The T-72B3 was developed in the early 2010s and released to market in 2019. It still retained the same ineffective Kontakt-5 array as the one on the obr. 1989, but it also introduced several modern upgrades: an advanced thermal sight, vastly superior to the night vision devices on previous tanks. The original T-72B3s were fitted with the Sosna-U sight, an optics system that contained the French made Catherine FC thermal imager developed by Thales. Other internal modifications included a better engine, better communication systems, an improved autoloader, and other upgrades. One external upgrade that can be visually identified is a meteorological sensing device, which is used to measure wind speed, humidity, and other parameters. The sensor is used to improve the firing accuracy of the fire-control system. The presence of this type of meteorological sensor indicates that the tank is of exclusively Russian origin, as they are the only country that uses this modification. The T-72B3 was not equipped with infrared searchlights; instead, an additional KONTAKT-5 module was mounted where the searchlight used to be. The T-72B3 was mounted with a new improved parallel track pattern – this was an improvement over the previous tracked treads like on the T-72 obr. 1989. Russia is the only country that operates the T-72B3; footage showing the T-72B3 operating in Ukraine prior to 2022 helped confirm the presence of Russian regular units there, disproving claims that Russia did not directly intervene inside Ukraine.
Ukraine’s armed forces have been operating a handful of captured T-72B3s only after the full scale invasion in 2022.
The T-72B3 was even further modernized: additional armor on the sides of the hull and the back of the turret was added. Using more potent Kontakt-5 ERA modules, the new variant was known as the T-72B3M, with the “M” standing for modernized. The original B3M included soft bags housing the ERA – these would prove to be ineffective on the modern battlefield, often tearing or getting damaged in the heat and chaos of fighting. The T-72B3M has been even further modernized based on experience attained on the Ukrainian battlefield, adding ERA in hard casing instead of the soft bags, and increasing the number of ERA modules on the turret to cover the rear as well. This would unofficially be known as the T-72B3M obr. 2022. The T-72B3M and T-72B3 have become some of Russia’s most used tanks in the war in Ukraine, being used in vast numbers and suffering tremendous losses.
The T-80
The T-80 series was one of the last tanks that the USSR produced. The T-80 was based in many aspects on the T-64 and incorporated features from the T-72 as well. In many ways the T-80 is superior to both the T-64 and the T-72. The T-80 was also one of the first tanks to introduce a gas turbine engine, giving it a significant weight-to-power ratio compared to the T-64 and T-72. The gas turbine engine, however, required a lot of fuel, even while idle, and later T-80 modifications used less fuel-hungry engines. One such example is the T-80UD which sported a diesel engine and was developed at the Morozov factory in Ukraine. Compared to the T-72, the T-80 was a much more advanced tank at the time. The T-80 was also produced in smaller numbers in comparison to the T-72 and T-64.
The T-80BV is one of the earlier versions of the T-80 tanks. The T-80BV is also amongst the more numerous tanks that are fighting on the Ukrainian battlefield. Ukraine fields a not insignificant number of T-80BV, but not as many as Russia, which operates a larger number of T-80BV tanks.
The T-80BV is characterized by the distinct Kontakt-1 brick array, it is easily distinguishable from the T-72B as the T-80BV has a more angular array. Compared to the T-64BV, the T-80BV has less ERA coverage on the sides of the turret, but more ERA installed on the top middle part of the turret. The T-80BV keeps the legacy infrared searchlight on the right side of the turret cheek.
The T-80U was significantly improved over the T-80BV. Like with many tank upgrades, internal modifications that aren’t readily visible from the exterior were added, these included better electronics and communication systems, as well as other drive-system improvements. The T-80U had much more improved armor coverage with the introduction of Kontakt-5 ERA, instead of the Kontakt-1 used on the T-80BV. The T-80U has a unique ERA array on the turret, with rubber flaps added to the ERA modules – this gives the T-80U its distinctive look. Some early versions of the T-80U still retained the obsolete infrared searchlight, but it was mostly phased out later on.
The T-80BVM is one of Russia’s more advanced tanks. It was developed in the 2010s to complement Russia’s premium main battle tank, the T-90M. One of the main visually distinctive features on the T-80BVM is the unique “arrowhead” array of RELIKT ERA. RELIKT is Russia’s most advanced ERA technology, it offers increased protection compared to Kontakt-1 and Kontakt-5 ERA modules. The T80-BVM is also equipped with a meteorological sensor and added side armor. Initially, the added side armor was in the form of soft bags, but later upgraded to hard armor packages after the experience in Ukraine. Russia is the only country that fields the T-80BVM. Ukrainian forces were able to capture several T-80BVM during Russia’s full scale invasion, and managed to repair and field some of these captured tanks. One famous example of a captured BVM was a tank whose crew named it Zayka or “Bunny”. Zayka was involved in many battles with the crew drawing victory rings on the tank’s gun to indicate a vehicle kill. “Zayka” was in the end knocked out and destroyed during the siege of Bakhmut – all of its crew survived.
The T-90
The T-80 series was one of the last tanks that the USSR produced, and the Soviet project that was launched to compete with the T-64, the T-72, and the T-80, was only finally realized in independent Russia, after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The T-90 was that tank. Driving most of its components and design elements from the T-72, the T-90 has become Russia’s premiere tank in both its iterations.
The first truly mass produced T-90 tank was the T-90a. It can be distinguished by its distinct soft-kill active protection, the Shtora. Often portrayed in the media as two “red eyes”, the Shtora is a type of countermeasure that would interfere with the guidance system of early-generation guided anti-tank missiles. In reality, the visible red light is only emitted when the system is being warmed up. Furthermore the Shtora is considered an outdated active protection system, as relatively modern anti-tank guided missiles are not affected by the Shtora. Although sharing many external visual similarities with the T-72, the T-90A has a distinctive angular welded turret, whereas most previous Soviet main battle tanks had a cast turret. The angular turret is also accentuated by the angular Kontakt-5 ERA array on the turret. The T-90A uses a modern optical imager with thermal capabilities, and has modern additions such as the meteorological sensor, and laser warning receivers. Mounted on the top and sides of the turret, the T-90A laser warning receivers are designed to detect laser beams used either for aiming or measuring the distance to a target, the system would then inform the tank crew from which direction the laser beam is coming, in order to deploy a smoke screen to protect the tank. Western equivalents of laser detection and active protection systems are much more effective and advanced than what the T-90A sports, yet their inclusion is still an indicator that a tank is Russian and of the more modern variety. There are also various off-shoot variants of the T-90, such as the T-90K which looks a lot like the T-90A but has additional elements that make it serve as a commander’s tank. Export versions of the T-90 such as the T-90S and T-90MS, although rare, are still showing up on the Ukrainian battlefield, sometimes from stocks meant for buyers that had already ordered or paid for them from Russia.
The T-90M is Russia’s premiere main battle tank fielded in the war. It is a vast improvement to the T-90A in various aspects, sporting modern “NATO style” elements, such as its distinctive angular RELIKT ERA modules on the turret. A remote controlled commander’s weapon station also stands out as a unique feature that no other Soviet main battle tank has. Another completely unique feature of the T-90M is the external bustle. Used to store extra ammunition, the bustle can only be accessed externally, unlike NATO designs that allowed for the tank crew to access the bustle ammunition from inside the safety of the tank. A meteorological sensor and laser warning receivers have become standard on all T-90M tanks. The T-90M on the Ukrainian battlefield is truly a formidable foe, with Ukrainian tank commanders saying they sometimes need 3 or more of their own tanks to be able to face off one T-90M. Captured in limited quantities, some Ukrainian tank operators have said that the T-90M was what the Soviet tank concept should have been if done correctly. Despite its numerous advantages, the T-90M still retains a lot of the design flaws shared with all the tanks in this guide: horrible reverse speed that makes the tank very vulnerable during retreats or exfils; and the dangerous storage of most of the tank’s ammunition inside the crew compartment, positioning the crew practically on top of their ammunition load – some would nickname this autoloader system “the carousel of death”.
Although this guide tries to lay out the main distinctive features of the Soviet legacy tanks on the Ukrainian battlefield, actually identifying them from real footage is more tricky. Most tanks, especially on the Russian side, are covered with ad-hoc armor modifications, most notable of which is the “cope cage” – as it has become known in popular culture terms. A large sheet of metal or slat armor welded on top of the tank turret at a raised height, these modifications were mocked for being designed to stop weapons like the top-down attack Javelin system. However, later experience in the Ukrainian war showed they were somewhat effective against small drones with dropped munitions or self destructing FPV (first person view) drones. The top-mounted slat armor would, however, make the tank have a much larger profile, adding to the weight, obstructing some of the externally mounted equipment and optics, and making crew movement more difficult. In some instances, the top-mounted slat armor would also include different types of ERA modules. Slat armor is not the only type of improvised armor being added to tanks on the Ukrainian battlefield. Everything from simply adding more ERA modules, to ludacris designs such as wire-mesh cages filled with gravel. Despite being mostly atypical additions, all of these improvised armor upgrades reflected one thing: how scared tank crews are of the modern battlefield. One modern weapon that truly ended up punching much higher than its weight category against the tank is the drone. The proliferation of drones on the Ukrainian battlefield have changed the equation for any future military conflict. Cheap, easy to produce, and very hard to counter, a small drone equipped with an explosive device could disable, damage or even destroy a multi-million dollar modern main battle tank. Whether drones will end up taking over the entire battlefield or not remains to be seen, but what remains certain is that the tank will remain a fixture of many fronts in the Ukrainian war.
