Russia's tank production struggles amid mounting losses
The Russian tank manufacturer, Uralvagonzavod, has revealed its annual tank production. While these numbers may seem impressive, they also highlight the significant and irreplaceable losses Russia is facing during the war in Ukraine with its current production capacity.
Uralvagonzavod, the only new tank manufacturer in Russia, has produced approximately 200 T-72B and T-72B1 tanks upgraded to the T-72B3 standard and 60-80 T-90M tanks in 2024, reports Damian Ratka from Defence 24.
Less than 300 new tanks make up only part of the deliveries. In addition to manufacturing new ones, the Russians continue to restore equipment from long-term storage, some of which have been stored since Soviet times. What once seemed a nearly inexhaustible source of equipment is beginning to run dry, as evidenced by the losses incurred in Ukraine.
Old tanks in the Russian army
As noted by Defence 24, Russia is trying to salvage the situation by restarting production of the T-80 family of tanks. Although it has seen some success in launching the production of gas turbines to power this equipment, new tanks of this type are still not being produced.
The increasing and consistently growing share is taken by old T-62 tanks, indicating the reserves Russia is tapping into. This is not surprising, given that in 2024, Russia lost about 3,700 tanks. This statistic is backed by photographic documentation, meaning the number of destroyed machines could be even higher.
Meanwhile, it's worth comparing Russian production with European tank production, where only about 50 brand-new Leopard 2 tanks are produced annually, and around 60-70 are modernized.
T-62 tanks in the war in Ukraine
The T-62 is a tank produced from 1962 to 1975 (in the USSR, licensed production in North Korea lasted longer). When it entered service, it surpassed Western-made tanks of the time, such as the Leopard 1 and AMX-30, in terms of firepower.
It was the first Soviet tank to be armed with a 115 mm smoothbore gun but without the autoloader typical of later tanks like the T-64 or T-72. Officially, the T-62 was withdrawn from the Russian army in 2013, yet in December 2024, it accounted for nearly one-quarter of Russian tanks destroyed in Ukraine.
