Russian T‑90S tanks: Rare battlefield presence, significant losses

Ukrainians have reported the destruction of additional Russian armoured vehicles, including the T-90S. This tank is very rarely featured in frontline reports, as the Russians originally did not plan to deploy it there. We delve into its history and capabilities.

Ukrainian military and political commentator Oleksandr Kovalenko wrote about the Russians' losses in the Donetsk region on his Telegram profile. In his post, he explained, among other things, how the T-90S tanks ended up in Ukraine. Earlier, other commentators and analysts had suggested that the Russians changed their minds and decided to send available T-90S tanks to the front as a supplement to numerous losses.

"The T-90S is the export version of the T-90 with a very interesting history. They were mainly sent under contracts to India as the T-90S Bhishma, but some tanks did not pass acceptance due to poor assembly quality and other problems or defects. During the export deliveries, a certain number of these tanks accumulated, and from November-December 2022, they began to be sent to the front," explained the Ukrainian.

The T-90S tank is very similar in equipment to the standard T-90 used by the Russian army. It has an engine with 1,000 horsepower, allowing the crew to accelerate the vehicle to a maximum speed of 64 km/h. Like the T-90, the tank's offensive capabilities primarily rely on the 125 mm 2A46M-3 smoothbore gun. Additionally, the tank is armed with 7.62 mm and 12.7 mm machine guns.

The T-90S is somewhat stripped down compared to the original. It does not have the TszU-1 Shtora-1 electro-optical self-defence system. Instead, Russian designers implemented space for reactive armour.

It is unknown how many T-90S units have reached the front to support the fighting Russian forces. However, Oleksandr Kovalenko notes that the destruction of each such tank is rare.

According to various sources, the total number of destroyed T-90S tanks in Ukraine is estimated to be between 10 and a maximum of 15 units. However, from the Russian perspective, the losses of all T-90 family tanks appear much worse, with at least 150 units already destroyed.