Russia is one of just two countries in the world known to be producing multiple separate classes of the battle tanks in parallel, with its T-90M Breakthrough and T-14 Armata both being in service the former in a frontline role since early 2020 and the latter currently with a limited initial operating capability. These tanks are relied on to gradually phase upgraded variants of Cold War-era T-72 and T-80 tanks, as well as older T-90 variants, out of service.
While the two tanks use many of the same technologies in their sensors, communications, and armor, the T-90M is a lighter and less ambitious design which is also considerably cheaper to manufacture and has much lower operational costs and maintenance needs, allowing it to serve as a lighter complement to the T-14.
The Russian Army is expected to continue to receive both tanks throughout the 2020s, and Russian state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec was reported on August 23rd to have received new units of both.
Rostec First Deputy CEO Vladimir Artyakov said at the Army 2021 International Military-Technical Forum that day: "We have shipped the latest T-90M ‘Proryv’ upgraded tanks, an experimental batch of T-14 ‘Armata’ tanks and continue the deliveries of Pantsir-S systems,” stressing that both tanks were in considerable demand abroad.
The T-90M has already seen close to 1000 units ordered by foreign clients as the T-90MS export variant, with Egypt reportedly signing a contract in 2020 for the license production of 500 tanks domestically and India having ordered over 450 the previous year. Some of the T-90M’s most conspicuous improvements over older T-90 variants include the integration of the new 2A46M-5 gun and the T-14 tank’s Kalina fire control system, which allow it to deploy the wide range of specialized munitions provide significantly more firepower than older tanks.
The Afghani active protection system and Relikt explosive reactive armor provide a degree of survivability with few rivals in the world, and the tank benefits from similar communication and command suite and digital communications systems to the T-14 which improve its situational awareness and network-centric warfare capabilities.
