Key Points and Summary – The T-90M “Proryv-3” is Russia’s most modern operational main battle tank, a heavily upgraded T-72 derivative built around improved firepower, survivability, and mass production.
-It has become the backbone of Russian armored forces in Ukraine and previously saw combat in Syria.
T-90M tank. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
-But the T-90M is also being chewed up at a startling rate by Western missiles and ever more lethal Ukrainian drones, with over a hundred visually confirmed losses.
-Moscow has responded by driving its Uralvagonzavod plant to a 24/7 tempo and focusing its sanctions-strained industry on cranking out several hundred T-90Ms a year—trading quality margins for sheer volume.
Russia Keeps Losing T-90Ms – And Keeps Building More
The war in Ukraine, at least in recent years, has become increasingly defined by cutting-edge technology like drones and missiles.
As the conflict has escalated, so have the battlefield dynamics – but on the ground and in the mud, soldiers are still working with main battle tanks.
Specifically, troops are operating alongside the T-90M – Moscow’s modernized main battle tank that remains the backbone of Russia’s armored ground forces.
And despite heavy losses as drones become more capable and lethal, the vehicle’s production continues.
T-90M. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The T-90M, in fact, remains Russia’s most modern tank in service, making its numbers a good indicator of Moscow’s ability to replenish and project force during war.
The T-90M and Why It Exists
The T-90M is the latest in a long line of upgrades to a Soviet-era hull-and-turret design that traces its lineage back to the T-72.
Full name “Proryv-3,” the T-90M boasts an entirely new welded turret,
enhanced armor using the modern Relikt explosive reactive armor (ERA) system, and upgraded fire-control and optics systems. Upgraded mobility also means it is more capable of operating and traversing through difficult terrain.
All of these upgrades are designed to hone in on three things: firepower, survivability, and producibility.
T-90M Tank from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
In other words, the T-90M is designed to be capable of standing up to modern threats, cheap to produce, and scalable for the Russian industry.
Amid sanctions and increasing losses in Ukraine, however, Russia is noticing the strain.
The tank carries a 125 mm main gun – and in many cases, the 2A46M-5 smoothbore – that’s capable of firing modern APFSDS rounds and even anti-tank guided missiles.
In field use, the T-90M represents a central armored capability that Russia can deploy now – unlike futuristic and immature designs like the impressive T-14 Armata. It’s not the highest-end machine ever made, but it’s the best Russia has for now, and it’s plenty good enough – until it’s faced with modern drone technologies.
Russia Keeps Building
In summer 2025, news broke that Russia had dramatically accelerated T-90M production to strengthen its military, seemingly defying the crippling sanctions that have caused major delays to other domestic military hardware programs.
Reports described how production of the T-90M tank had ramped up at the Uralvagonzavod plant in Nizhny Tagil.
The news came from a report by the Institute for the Study of War, which noted how Moscow was maintaining a focus on its military presence and ensuring operations continue in the anticipation of future challenges.
“ISW recently observed reports indicating that Russia is actively expanding and stockpiling its production of T-90M tanks, and Russia’s expansion and acceleration of missile production capacity further supports ISW’s assessment that Russia is working to expand its defense industrial base (DIB) likely in preparation for a protracted war in Ukraine and a potential expanded future conflict with NATO,” the report explained.
The surge in production at Russia’s primary tank manufacturing facility is hard to measure, however.
Exact figures are not released by Moscow, but analysts estimate that the plant has scaled up to produce several hundred tanks annually – an increase over the 60 or 70 understood to be rolled off the factory lines in 2022. To achieve this, the facility now operates a 24-hour production cycle.
How Russia Uses the T-90M
The T-90M has seen years of combat in Ukraine, and it was also used in Syria, where it participated in combined arms operations alongside artillery and infantry.
Lessons were learned in Syria when T-90Ms were lost as a result of American-made Javelin missiles – and now in Ukraine, the tank faces similar threats from Ukrainian forces using American missiles and emerging drone technologies.
Javelin anti-tank missile. Image Credit: YouTube Screenshot.
Throughout the Ukraine conflict, the T-90M has been frequently used to attack fortified positions.
Reports have indicated, however, that Russian armored units have faced significant attrition, and, based on open-source reports of visually confirmed losses, as many as 137 tanks have been lost since early 2022. It’s no wonder, then, that Russia is ramping up production to the degree it is.
On top of replacing lost tanks, Russian units have also sought to protect the vehicles better using modern electronic warfare systems to counter drone threats.
This method has reportedly seen mixed results.
And, there are problems with scaling up production at Uralvagonzavod, too: not only is it hugely expensive, but it eats into the facility’s capacity to work on other hardware.
Combined with Western sanctions that have disrupted supply chains for high-tech components – specifically optics and electronics – it has reshaped Russia’s domestic manufacturing base to one that focuses increasingly on wartime needs.
The T-90M continues to evolve. It’s not invincible, no, but it is available, adaptable, and still rolling off the line. And that’s all that really matters for Russia at this stage.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York who writes frequently for National Security Journal. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he analyzes and understands left-wing and right-wing radicalization and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
