T-90S Tank - "Iron Fist" of the Vietnam People's Army

(Dan Tri) - T-90S and 90SK are among the most modern main battle tanks in the world. These tanks are contributing to protecting national security and peace in Vietnam.

T-90 - Third generation main battle tank with many modern features

The T-90 began development in the late 1980s by Uralvagonzavod, the world's largest tank manufacturer, headquartered in Nizhny Tagil, Russia.

This is a third-generation main battle tank developed by Russia to replace the previous T-72 and T-80 tanks, with many upgrades in electronic systems, armor, defense systems, attack weapons, etc.

The T-90 was officially adopted into the Russian army in 1992, before the export T-90S and T-90SK tank models were introduced.

T-90S tanks of the Vietnam People's Army move through Ba Dinh Square during the first training session of mission A80, the evening of August 22 (Photo: Manh Quan).

Compared to the standard T-90 version, the T-90S and T-90SK export versions are upgraded in terms of electronics, communications, firepower, engines, etc. to meet the requirements of the ordering party.

The T-90S tank of the Vietnam People's Army was first revealed in December 2019 at the Central Military Commission's Military-Political Conference ( Ministry of National Defense ). At this conference, the T-90S tank and some equipment of the Vietnam People's Army were displayed at the headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense.

At the exhibition of Achievements in building the national defense and building the people's armed forces held in Thai Nguyen city on December 20, 2019, the Ministry of National Defense for the first time publicly demonstrated two models of tanks T-90S and T-90SK of the Tank - Armored Corps.

The T-90S/T-90SK tanks help modernize the Tank and Armored Forces of the Vietnam People's Army, along with the older generation T-54/T-55 and T-62 tanks, helping to protect national security (Photo: Nguyen Hai).

Specifications of T-90S/T-90SK tanks of the Vietnam People's Army

Basically, the T-90S and T-90SK are equipped with similar technical specifications, weapons and defense systems. The difference is that the T-90SK is considered a command tank version, equipped with additional communication and navigation systems for command during combat.

The external design between the T-90S and T-90SK has no difference, except that the T-90SK will have 2 antenna masts, instead of one like on the T-90S, to enhance the radio and communication system.

The T-90S tank is equipped with a powerful firepower system, high mobility, suitable for combat in many conditions (Photo: Hai Long).

According to the announcement at the exhibition of Achievements in building the national defense and building the people's armed forces in December 2019, the T-90S/T-90SK tank is 9.57m long, 3.78m wide and 2.86m high, weighing about 46.5 tons.

The vehicle is equipped with a V-92 engine, with a capacity of more than 1,000 horsepower, helping the tank reach a maximum speed of 60km/h and a maximum range of 550km on flat roads or 520km on terrain.

The T-90S/T-90SK is equipped with a modern guidance system, an advanced suspension system, with large capacity hydraulic shock absorbers, wide track plates... allowing operation in many different conditions, suitable for combat on all terrains in Vietnam. The vehicle can cross 2.85m wide trenches, climb over 1m high obstacles...

In addition to the ability to move on land, the T-90S/T-90SK tank is also capable of wading through water at a depth of 1.2m without preparation or wading through water up to 5m deep if it undergoes a preparation process of about 20 minutes, including installing rubber pads on the vehicle doors, covering the main gun barrel, installing an additional "deep water snorkel" system on the turret...

The crew of the T-90S/T-90SK consists of 3 people, including the commander (commands all vehicle operations, makes combat decisions, coordinates with other units...), gunner (operates the vehicle's firepower system) and driver (controls the tank, monitors the vehicle's technical parameters...).

T-90S/T-90SK tank attack fire system

The T-90S/T-90SK is the most powerful main battle tank of the Vietnam People's Army today.

The main firepower of this tank is the 2A46M5 smoothbore gun, 125mm caliber, automatic loading mechanism. The gun's rate of fire is 8 rounds/1 minute and the ammunition capacity is 42 rounds.

In addition to being able to fire all types of conventional ammunition, this gun can also launch 9M119 anti-tank missiles, armor-piercing shells, high-explosive fragmentation shells, and anti-tank shaped-charge shells, with a range of up to 5,000m.

The T-90S tank is highly mobile, capable of overcoming many different types of obstacles (Photo: Nguyen Hai).

Parallel to the cannon is a coaxial PKT 7.62mm machine gun, with 2,000 rounds of ammunition, with a range of about 1,800m, tasked with destroying infantry, light targets, or supporting the main gun in close combat.

On top of the turret is a 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun, with a range of up to 2,000m. This machine gun can be automatically controlled from inside the vehicle, with 300 rounds of ammunition.

The highlight of the T-90S/T-90SK tank lies in its automation as the attack system is under the control of the automatic target tracking control system (ASC) and the ballistic computer system (WB), allowing accurate firing even in poor visibility conditions or at night.

Defense system of T-90S/T-90SK tank

The T-90S/T-90SK is considered one of the best protected tanks today, thanks to its complex composite armor system, including main armor and explosive reactive armor, which helps increase resistance to anti-tank weapons.

Smoke missile launcher system for defense on T-90S tank (Photo: Manh Quan).

The tank is also equipped with the Shtora-1 active defense and jamming system, equipped on both sides of the gun barrel, which has the function of faking and jamming infrared signals, causing the enemy's missile control systems to confuse the signals, giving wrong instructions to the missile, helping to protect the tank.

The vehicle is also equipped with a laser warning receiver (LWR). When targeted by laser beams from laser rangefinders of enemy military vehicles or laser beams from some anti-tank missiles, this system will automatically launch smoke grenades on both sides of the turret to obstruct the enemy's ability to observe, helping the vehicle quickly escape the danger zone.

The T-90S tank is considered the "iron fist" of the Vietnam People's Army.

The T-90S/T-90SK is also equipped with an automatic fire extinguishing system to help extinguish fires inside the vehicle during combat. In addition, the vehicle is also capable of protecting the crew and soldiers with a nuclear biochemical protection system (NPC).

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The T-90S/T-90SK is the most modern main battle tank of the Vietnam People's Army today, gradually replacing the old generation T-54/55 tanks. This is considered a symbol of the modernization of the Vietnamese Tank - Armored Force, contributing to protecting national security.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/khoa-hoc/xe-tang-t-90s-nam-dam-thep-cua-quan-doi-nhan-dan-viet-nam-20250828161327423.htm