The Russian Army has reportedly acquired a brand new batch of modernised T-62 major battle tanks, after the automobiles have been withdrawn from storage and refurbished. Photos have proven the automobiles being transportedfrom storage depots and industrial vegetation, apparently in preparation for deployment. It stays extremely unsure what number of T-62s are presently in Russian Army service, though footage has confirmed that the tanks have taken vital losses within the Ukrainain theatre, and that a number of dozen of the automobiles have been captured. The Russian Army has beforehand rapidly retired its T-62s within the Nineties and early 2000s, standardising its fleet across the T-80 and T-72, in addition to the improved T-72 by-product that was renamed the T-90 for advertising and marketing functions. Not like the newer and extra succesful T-64s, nonetheless, a lot of the T-62 fleet averted being scrapped, because the tanks have been prized for his or her ease of use and low upkeep necessities, and reportedly had some benefits for metropolis combating.
T-62s first started to be withdrawn from storage in 2016 to be equipped as support to the Syrian Arab Army, though all remaining Russian armour in Syria have been captured by Western and Turkish backed Islamist militias in December 2024. T-62s started to be introduced out of storage to equip the Russian Army’s personal models in Might 2022, after T-72s utilized in preliminary offensives into Ukraine suffered excessive losses. The T-62M variant utilized in each conditions is a variant developed within the Eighties with enhanced armour, extra highly effective engines and new fireplace controls, though the tanks nonetheless lacked key options corresponding to thermal sights seen on all Russia’s present frontline automobiles. These have wanted to be put in throughout more moderen refurbishment. Tanks introduced out of storage extra not too long ago have been seen integrating anti-drone cages, and in some circumstances explosive reactive armour.
Though the T-62 has benefits by way of simplicity and ease of upkeep, the choice to deliver the automobiles out of storage is believed to largely be motivated by the intense shortages of extra superior lessons of major battle tanks. Whereas the USSR was capable of produce major battle tanks at charges of round 4000 per yr in peacetime, Russia produced solely round 100 tanks per yr within the years previous the battle, and is anticipated to provide between 400 and 600 in 2025, which is taken into account removed from adequate to replenish ongoing losses. As reserves of T-72 and T-80 tanks are more and more depleted, the T-62 is anticipated to be relied on more and more closely. Russia’s adversaries within the Western world have themselves suffered from extreme tank shortages, main them to equip Ukraine with out of date Leopard I and T-55 tanks which can be much less succesful than the T-62M, whereas provides of the extra succesful T-64 and T-80 tanks, and more and more the T-72 as effectively, run low.
A considerably benefit of the T-62 is that the category is extensively operated by the Korean Folks’s Army. With North Korea having been by far the best provider of armaments to Russia, provides of 115mm munitions and numerous improve packages and spare elements are more likely to be available from the nation. The T-62 was 20 years forward of Western tank designs in integrating smoothbore weapons and armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds, which means that regardless of its age, it stays rather more viable than Western tanks of its period when correctly upgraded significantly for anti-armour roles. The Leopard I and Challenger 2 tanks equipped to Ukraine, against this, depend on out of date rifled weapons, which have a lot decrease muzzle velocities and penetration capabilities. A main downside of the T-62 is its requirement for 4 crew quite than three on account of its lack of an autoloader, which is a matter presently confronted by all Western tanks developed outdoors France. The tank’s 115mm gun is significantly much less highly effective than the 125mm weapons utilized by all subsequent Soviet Russian tank lessons, whereas its armour safety can also be far inferior to modernised T-64, T-72, T-80 and T-90 variants.
