Russia’s T-90M Tank Can Be Explained in 2 Words

Total Failure: Russia’s T-90M tank, once touted as a modern battlefield powerhouse, has faltered in Ukraine.

-Despite upgrades like a new turret, advanced optics, and Relikt ERA armor, the T-90M has suffered substantial losses to Ukrainian forces equipped with drones, precision artillery, and U.S.-made Bradley Fighting Vehicles.

-Poor crew training, tactical errors, and vulnerabilities to modern weapons have exposed the T-90M’s flaws, with even infantry vehicles like the Bradley achieving unexpected victories.

-Russia’s reliance on outdated tactics and questionable tank designs raises questions about its military preparedness, while Ukraine’s effective countermeasures continue to exploit these weaknesses, eroding Russian confidence in its armor.

Russia’s T-90M Tank: A Battlefield Powerhouse or Bust?

The excellent combat ability of the Ukrainian infantry, artillery, and air force has shown Vladimir Putin that bragging about a weapons platform only leads to trouble. The vaunted T-90M tank that the Russian military thought was the best in the world has been shattered in Ukraine. Perhaps as many as 100 T-90Ms have been destroyed or taken out of action somehow. They are being knocked out continually, even though the Russian defense industrial base keeps sending new ones to the frontlines.

The Russian army had relatively few T-90Ms in service before the war started. An estimated 67 were in action in Ukraine as of the summer. The Russian army has endured difficulty fighting a determined Ukrainian army that has used modern anti-tank missiles, excellent field artillery with guided shells, and drone swarms that dive down to destroy enemy tanks like the T-90M.

The T-90M Has Been Upgraded for the Modern Battlefield

The first T-90 entered service at the end of the Cold War in 1992. The M designation is the fourth upgrade package that culminated in 2019.

Russian engineers added a new turret, a modern 125mm gun, and a gutty new engine. Improved electronics for the tank commander were also added. The gunner received better optics. Relikt ERA armor extended survivability. This all should have made the T-90M far from vulnerable.

Not a Winner

But that didn’t help. Russian army expert Martin J. Dougherty told the Kyiv Independent in July that the T-90M is based on the chassis of a T-72 combined with the gunnery system of the T-80. “This should have been a winning combination, and until the invasion of Ukraine the overall impression was positive,” Dougherty said.

Ukraine Has Dominated the T-90M

Instead, the T-90 M’s combat experience has been negative. Five T-90Ms were captured intact by Ukrainian soldiers. The newly acquired American Bradley Fighting Vehicle with a 25mm chain gun is the infantry carrier that has been so successful in Ukraine.

T-90M tank. Image Credit: YouTube Screenshot.

It has destroyed two T-90Ms, which is hard to believe since the Bradley doesn’t usually serve as a light tank against vehicles with modern armor like the T-90M.

Too Many Problems in Too Little Time

So, what’s the problem with the T-90M?

The crew members are probably rookies drafted from the bottom-of-the-barrel recruiting pool. This inexperience has shown on the battlefield. The armor has been problematic. The targeting system and ammunition must be faulty.

Mobility is not good enough to avoid an infantry fighting vehicle that is not designed to take on modern tanks. This has been an embarrassment for the Russian military and shows that Putin was overconfident in his armored force before the war.

Plus, drones have been able to pierce the armor of the Russian tank. This has some military analysts wondering if even the most modern tanks are obsolete on the 21st-century battlefield. Loitering munitions and mines, plus accurate artillery fire, have also been the downfall of the T-90M.

With the T-14 Armata not ready for the battlefield, the T-90M is the most modern active Russian tank, and it has been an embarrassment. Where do the Russians go from here? They need to back off and conduct an after-action review to identify and fix problems. There is no way a T-90M should be losing battles to the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

T-90M. Image Credit: Vitaly M. Kuzmin.

That’s not a knock on the Bradley, but it is just hard to believe an armored personnel carrier designed for support, troop hauling, and reconnaissance should be able to take out a T-90M with its Bushmaster gun or its TOW anti-tank missiles. This means the Bradley is sneaking up on the T-90M and reacting quicker in battle.

This could imply Russian operating error hence the need for the invaders to figure out what is wrong and fix it quickly. The problem could be the platform itself or unsatisfactory tactics, techniques, and procedures – most likely all the above.

Meanwhile, the Russian defense industry is liable to keep making the tank as is and hope for the best. That would be fine with the Ukrainians as they continue to use what is working – namely drones, artillery, mines, and Bradleys – to destroy more T-90Ms.

The lopsided losses don’t look suitable for the Russian army and outdated Soviet-era tactics with inept crew members will only result in more losses. That will give the Ukrainians even more confidence as they fight the enemy.

T-90M. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood

Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.