Designation: T-72B
Type: Main Battle Tank
Crew, men: 3
Weight, tons: 44.5
Dimensions, meters: 9.53-3.46-2.23
Number of guns/caliber, mm: 1/125
Number of MGs/caliber, mm: 1/12.7, 1/7.62
Engine: V-84-1, diesel, 840 hp
Max. speed, kmph: 60
Cruising range, km: 500

The T-72 is the main battle tank in the inventory of Russia and most of the CIS countries. The tank was fielded in 1973 and received the designation “Ural“. New models were designed during production. The T-72A was armed with a laser sight, range finder and a night sight with an IR searchlight. Its armor was improved, and “Tucha“ smoke grenades were mounted on the turret. The T-72B was armed with a “Svir“ guided missile mount used to fire missiles with semi-automatic aiming by laser beam and a mounted dynamic protection system.

Mass production of the tank was conducted in Yugoslavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia and India. The T-72 was delivered in large quantities to Iraq, Syria, Kuwait and Algeria.

The baptism of fire for the T-72 took place during the Syrian-Israel war in 1982. T-72's were also used in the Iran-Iraq war and during the Gulf War, as well as in combat operations in Yugoslavia and in different military conflicts all across the former USSR.