The newly launched 22nd Mechanized Brigade has received into service the previously unknown modernization of Soviet Т-72 Ural tanks.

A video with a run-in of transferred armor was published by the press service of 22nd Mechanized Brigade on their social media.

Before the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, these vehicles were extremely rare in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and were not ready to fight in the storage of armored repair plants. However, with the outbreak of hostilities, they began to be restored and returned to service.

The transferred to the 22nd Mechanized Brigade combat vehicles have a number of significant differences compared to the original Т-72 Ural mod.1973 tank.

The first apparent difference was the appearance of containers of mounted Kontakt-1 reactive armor on the sides, as well as in the frontal projection of the hull, and turret of the tank. Also, in the aft part of the sides, splat armor was installed.

The installed protective equipment is extremely necessary for these vehicles due to outdated armor protection that no longer meets modern requirements. Covered by this reactive armour hull sections in the front projection should now withstand the shelling of most of the common anti-tank means on the front line from the RPG-7 and Soviet Fagot ATGM.

Another important difference was the disappearance of the “Moon” infrared spotlight from the turret of the tank, which acted as a light for night vision devices integrated into the sight of the gunner and the commander’s observation device.

This solution is standard in the modernization of tanks, when the old Soviet sights are replaced with their modern counterparts and are able to work in passive mode. Presumably, the old TPN-1-49-23 night sight of the gunner was replaced by the Ukrainian analogue with a thermal imaging matrix.

During the modernization, the tanks, presumably, also received a standard set of communication equipment presented by the modern Libid-K-2RB digital radio, as well as a set of GLONASS/GPS Basalt navigation equipment.

It is worth noting that in all modernized vehicles two of the six support rollers on each side are not original, but borrowed from older Т-55/Т-62 tanks taken from old stocks at tank repair plants. This directly points out the existing shortage of spare parts for Т-72 in Ukraine.

Also, the simplified version of the modernized Ukrainian Т-72АМТ tank appeared on the video as a tank platoon commander’s vehicle, about the upgrade of which Militarnyi told in detail in March this year.

The modernization of old Soviet Т-72А tanks is focused on increasing the protection of combat vehicles, mobility and firepower. The updated machine received a new engine and sighting devices.