Russia Switches to T-72A Modernization as T-72B Stocks Dwindle

New footage from Uralvagonzavod shows that Russia has begun modernizing the T-72A, likely due to the depletion of newer T-72B stocks.

Armored vehicle researcher Andriy Tarasenko published the video of the equipment on his Telegram channel.

According to the researcher, the footage from the tank plant captures a T-72A fitted with Relikt explosive reactive armor on the turret. In addition, the track-side fenders have been fitted with protection modules instead of the standard auxiliary fuel tanks.

“If UVZ can continue through 2026 and 2027 using the ‘obsolete’ T-72A, then Omsk will exhaust its stocks of Soviet-era T-80B (BV) tanks as early as 2026. Can the Russian Federation now organize mass production of new tanks?” the researcher wrote.

According to analysts at Frontelligence Insight, as of autumn 2025, Russia planned to repair and upgrade more than 800 T-72 tanks to the T-72B3M standard over a 10-year period. This figure corresponds to the estimated number of remaining T-72s in storage and at armored repair plants.

The analysts reviewed internal documentation from Uralvagonzavod and, based on the volume of ordered components, reconstructed projected output for the repair and modernization of T-72 tanks.

The data indicates that Russia plans to overhaul and upgrade 828 vehicles to the T-72B3M configuration by 2036, with peak activity expected around 2028. Between 2027 and 2029, 498 T-72B3M tanks are projected to be repaired or upgraded.

OSINT researcher Jompy, who analyzes satellite imagery to estimate remaining Russian equipment stocks, said the figure closely matches the number of T-72 tanks still in storage.

At the same time, roughly two-thirds of these stocks consist of older T-72A tanks, which entered service in 1979 and were produced until 1985. Some have already been transferred to Uralvagonzavod.

A full modernization of T-72A tanks to the T-72B3M standard would be technically complex, requiring the replacement of electronic systems, modifications to the chassis and autoloader, and upgrades to the hull and turret armor packages.

However, restored but not fully modernized T-72A tanks, fitted with reactive armor to a T-72B3-type standard, were observed in Russian service in 2024.

In addition to the T-72 program, Russia plans to manufacture, modernize, or overhaul 1,118 T-90M and T-90M2 tanks between 2027 and 2029.