Comparison of Russian T-90 and American Abrams tanks

According to Boris Rozhin, a military expert at the Center for Military-Political Journalism (Russia), Russia's T-90 tank is a worthy opponent of America's much-praised M1 Abrams tank.

US Abrams tank. (Source: Military.com)

“The T-90 tank has an advantage in terms of mobility, that is, it can overcome rough terrain better and is a faster vehicle than the M1 Abrams,” Rozhin said in an interview with Sputnik . “Of all the tanks offered, the Abrams is the heaviest and is considered more powerful than the Leopard. However, the West is delivering old, unmodernized tank models to Ukraine.”

“Currently in Ukraine, we see the T-90 being used quite actively in combat. This tank is used as an infantry support vehicle and has shown good performance. It is still difficult to say how the Abrams will do this job,” the military expert commented.

"The Abrams tank has the same problem as the German Leopard or the British Challenger. The weak point is the turret, and in general, the tank is poorly protected against drone attacks. The most vulnerable parts of the tank are the roof and the engine compartment, which are of course also inferior to the T-90 in terms of self-protection."

The T-90 is lighter than the Abrams, more maneuverable, and better adapted to the terrain and bad weather of Eastern Europe. According to Mr. Rozhin, the Abrams is at a higher risk of getting stuck in the mud.

The M1 Abrams tank was designed in 1972-1975 to counter Soviet tanks and other armored fighting vehicles.

After undergoing a series of upgrades, the Abrams is equipped with a gun capable of firing both armor-piercing and cumulative rounds. Some armor-piercing rounds are tipped with tungsten alloys and some are tipped with depleted uranium.

Regarding the Russian T-90, this 3rd generation main battle tank has undergone many improvements in recent years. The latest version, the T-90M Proryv, is well protected against conventional ammunition, precision-guided weapons and anti-tank missiles. The tank is equipped with a 125 mm smoothbore gun with high accuracy (capable of automatic loading) and a 12.7 mm remotely controlled machine gun.

In addition, according to Mr. Rozhin, Russian tanks are also capable of firing armor-piercing shells using the 3BM59 «Svinets-1» and 3BM60 «Svinets-2» ammunition.

"It should be noted that Washington is supplying Ukraine with outdated models. In any case, a total of 31 Abrams tanks (supplied to Ukraine by the West) will not be able to change the status quo on the battlefield," the expert concluded.

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