Russian T-72 tank losses in Ukraine bode ill for Iran's tank force

Russian T-72 tank losses in Ukraine suggest that Iran's forces, which use similar, older models of the Soviet-era workhorse, would not fare well in a conventional battle.

Ukrainian forces say they have destroyed more than 1,200 Russian tanks since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.

In areas that saw heavy fighting, the burnt-out remains of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles have become regular sights along roads.

The T-72 has been around since 1971 and was designed for a war against NATO during the peak of the Cold War, military news website 1945 reported May 8.

The variants seen fighting in Ukraine are probably the T-72B3 and the T-72B3Ms, the former of which was introduced in 2010 with about 1,300 in Russian service.

The T-72B3 has thicker armour, a better fire control system and more modern sights than does its original version. It also has newer engines and explosive reactive armour, the website noted.

Nevertheless, Russia's T-72s have taken the brunt of the losses in Ukraine as a result of anti-tank munitions and Ukrainian ambushes.

The tanks have especially suffered from the so-called "jack-in-the-box" flaw.

The T-72's shells are all placed in a ring within the turret that, when hit, can quickly ignite a chain reaction, blasting the turret off the tank's hull in a lethal blow and killing the entire crew, the Washington Post reported April 30.

Two members of the three-person crew sit on top of the ammunition, to make matters even worse.

Outdated, aging

Such losses do not bode well for Iran, which depends heavily on older variants of the T-72, which was the main tank of the Iran-Iraq War from 1980-1988.

Iran has some 1,600 tanks, according to most reports.

"The large tank force is, however, mostly made up of older models and completely outdated tanks," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported in January 2020.

"Only the new model Karrar, which was supposed to be delivered to the Iranian military in 2018, can compare with some of the better tanks in the world," it noted, referring to an upgraded variant of the Russian T-72S main battle tank.

However, the majority of Iran's tanks are largely locally made Zulfiqars -- an Iranian-made tank developed from major components of the T-72 and American M48 and M60 tanks that are a rough equivalent of the T-72 -- and 480 aging versions of the Soviet-designed T-72.

At the same time, the 92nd Armoured Division in the past was reported to be the only Iranian division that had enough tanks to be considered a true armoured division, even by regional standards.

It was seen as the premier Iranian armoured division and was considered one of the best units in the Iranian Army, both in equipment and in combat capability.

But even then, the 92nd Armoured Division would likely be destroyed within a very short timespan in a land battle, given the inferiority of Iranian tanks.

Western forces facing off against Saddam Hussein in the 1991 Persian Gulf War give one indication of what could happen.

While most Iraqi divisions surrendered after facing coalition air, artillery and missile strikes, one unit attempted to mount an attack after rejecting calls to surrender.

In that case, a coalition armoured brigade destroyed 40 to 50 tanks -- likely the T-72, which was used by Iraq at the time -- and armoured personnel carriers in 10 minutes at a range of 2km.