Vietnam wants to modernize its aging fleet of tanks or replace them with modern ones. Sputnik discussed the issue with editor-in-chief of journal Arsenal of the Motherland and former tank battalion commander Viktor Murakhovsky.

T-72B3 tank

Soviet-made tanks are the backbone of Vietnam’s armored forces, but they are old and need to be replaced with new and more advanced fighting vehicles.

The cost of a radical renewal of the country’s entire tank fleet is prohibitively high though. Fully aware of this the Vietnamese are now thinking of buying a limited number of modern tanks from Russia and upgrading their old ones to bring them up to speed with the demands of modern warfare.

“Vietnam has about 1,500 medium tanks and around 1,000 light ones. All of them were developed shortly after WWII and are no match for what Vietnam’s neighbors, above all China, now have. Keeping them in good shape is not easy as spare parts for them are increasingly hard to get these days,” Murakhovsly said.

He added that even in Russia, modernized T-72 and T-72B3 tanks sell at around $1.3 million apiece and even with minimum export overheads the price would climb to $1.5 million.

“As for the T-55 and T-62 tanks, they will cost at least half a million dollars and twice as much with dynamic protection, a modern fire control system, a thermal sight and a system to fire antitank missiles through the cannon,” Murakhovsky added.

He noted that the Vietnamese have to choose between repairing their old tanks and buying limited number of modern T-72B3s or their analogues, to deploy on potentially dangerous strategic areas or to radically upgrade what they have now.

“It is up to the Vietnamese side to decide, of course, but I think that buying modern tanks and getting rid of some of their outdated ones would be the right way to go,” Viktor Murakhovsky said in conclusion.

Source

Thailand is interested in buying T-90MS or T-90S main battle tanks from Russia.

Thai delegation visited the Uralvagonzavod, and seems to do an assessment of the type of T-90 MBT, because the latest T-14 MBT Armata not be exported in the near future.

By visiting Uralvagonzavod, the Army has information as a guide in determining which one will be selected MBT after the supply of Ukrainian Oplot MBT stalled.


As is known, Oplot tank originally projected to strengthen two cavalry battalion to replace the aging M48A5 tank.


The T-90 is a Russian third-generation main battle tank that is essentially a modernisation of the T-72B, incorporating many features of the T-80U (it was originally to be called the T-72BU, later renamed to T-90).


T-90MS – New modernised (M) version of the export tank T-90S, with a 1130HP engine, a PNM Sosna-U gunner view, a 7.62 mm turret UDP T05BV-1 RWS, GLONASS, inertial navigation systems and new explosive reactive armour (ERA). A new removable turret bustle is included, which provides storage for eight additional rounds. T-90MS is ready for serial production

Defence-blog

New Russian tank T-14 “Armata” : A Documentary Film from Russian TV. The most secret and the latest Russian military tank T-14 “Armata” was first shown to journalists at the site. The leading TV channel “Star” Alexei Egorov got the unique opportunity to see the behavior of the new off-road, sit inside the “Almaty was” to learn about the secrets of the armor of the tank, its engine, and the most important thing – to see firsthand how the T-14 fires!

Source: Defence-blog, TV Zvezda

Photo of MBT technology platform is Germany’s most modern tank (Source Autobild.de)

According to reports, United States plans to move 50 military vehicles to a base in the Hungarian north-western town of Tata.

The United States plans to move 50 military vehicles to a base in the Hungarian north-western town of Tata, Magyar Nemzet newspaper reported Wednesday.

According to the newspaper, the transfer of the vehicles, including four M1 Abrams tanks, is part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, an ongoing series of drills aimed at supporting NATO allies as a response to what the West considers to be Russian aggression in Ukraine.

NATO has also reinforced its military presence in the Baltic region since the conflict in southeast Ukraine broke out in April 2014. Since then, nearly 2,500 US Army troops have arrived in the region.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that NATO expansion toward the country's western frontier is a threat to global and national security...

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20150819/1025911358.html#ixzz3jGodZTtf

A Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force Type 74 armoured tank after it lost its tracks before an annual training session, which is based on a scenario to defend or retake islands in Japanese territory, near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji training field in Gotemba, west of Tokyo.

apan’s army showed off its abilities Tuesday in an annual live-fire exercise at the foot of Mount Fuji, as the country’s lawmakers debate legislation that would expand the military’s role overseas.

A wave of firing tanks shook the ground at the base of the scenic mountain, and helicopters hovered in front of more than 12,000 spectators sitting on the ground or in bleachers. The Ground Self-Defense Force exercise involved 2,300 troops, 20 aircraft, and 80 tanks and armored vehicles.

The Type 74 is a main battle tank (MBT) of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF). It was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as a replacement for the earlier Type 61. It was based on the best features of a number of contemporary designs, placing it in the same class as the US M60 or German Leopard 1. Like these designs, it mounts the Royal Ordnance L7 105 mm gun. The design did not enter widespread use until 1980, by which point other western forces were starting the introduction of much more capable designs.

Source: defence-blog

The Army of Nicaragua plans to acquire Russian T-72 tanks to replace the old T-55 of the same origin, declared the

The Land Forces of Nicaragua currently has 31 T-55 tanks in service after that since the beginning of the 80 acquired several lots of these venerable tanks from diverse suppliers.

The T-72 is a Soviet second-generation main battle tank that entered production in 1971. About 20,000 T-72 tanks were built, making it one of the most widely produced post–World War II tanks, second only to the T-54/55 family.

The T-72 was widely exported and saw service in 40 countries and in numerous conflicts. Improved variants are still being built for export customers...

Source: defence-blog