The Reason Russia Is Reverting To "Antique" Tanks With Cold War Sights

The loss of much Russian armor in Ukraine during the last year - some estimates suggest attrition of 50% or more - has meant Russia has had to bring Cold War tanks out of storage. 

Aside from their basic inadequacies, these tanks are now equipped with sights that were introduced 30 years ago. The problem is that they are inferior to the latest NATO models, meaning that they will almost never get off the crucial first shot - and that it is less likely to hit its target. JL 

Stetson Payne reports in The Drive:

Nearly sixty-two years since the first of the Soviet Army’s T-62s entered service, the Russian Army has once again modified the now obsolete tank equipped with a thermal sight only about half as old as the tank itself. The modification is a necessity brought on by battlefield losses of more capable types and sanctions that have impacted Russia's ability to generate modern electronics. Many systems, such as armored vehicles' sensors, were imported from Western countries prior to the war. Modern armored warfare depends largely on who can fire the first shot, so having a better or worse set of eyes can prove decisive.

Nearly sixty-two years since the first of the Soviet Army’s T-62s entered service, the Russian Army has once again modified the now obsolete tank. The “T-62M Obr. 2022” as shown in this Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) tweet appears equipped with a thermal sight only about half as old as the tank itself.

Russia has deployed its aging T-62s to Ukraine since last spring, and in October announced a plan to "modernize" 800 of the type for service.

The base T–62M dates to 1983, and NATO intelligence first observed the upgraded model during the Soviet Union's war in Afghanistan. It represented a considerable improvement over the original tanks, ironically built at the famed Malyshev Factory in Kharkiv, Ukraine, with upgraded armor and fire control systems, as well as a new diesel engine. It also featured the capability to fire 9K116-2 "Sheksna" (NATO: AT-10 Stabber) anti-tank guided missiles. 

That 1PN96MT-02 thermal sight, however, has its roots originally in the early production run of BTR-80 armored personnel carriers in the mid-1980s. This T-62 isn’t the first Russian tank to gain this aging optic. A late-January tweet from Tank Diary (@TankDiary) shows a train full of T-72Bs with the simpler, older sights equipped.

 

Forbes also reported earlier this month that Russians had equipped a number of T-80s with the inferior 1PN96 system. Given that many T-62s had to be reactivated from storage, the modification is likely a necessity brought on by battlefield losses of more capable types and especially sanctions that have impacted Russia's ability to generate modern electronics. Many systems, such as armored vehicles' sensors, were imported from Western countries prior to the war.

While the modern Sosna-U panoramic optics found on contemporary T-72B, T-80BVM, and T-90 variants vastly outclass the 1PN96, they rely upon a French-made Thales thermal imager. Invasion-related sanctions obviously foreclose replacing those Sosna-Us lost in combat or making additional units to retrofit reactivated tanks. 

Former Russian leader Dmitri Medvedev threatened the arrest of defense industry officials at a tank factory visit last year as supply chain problems snowballed. Furthermore, each passing day is another day closer to modern western tanks and armored fighting vehicles arriving on Ukraine's side with their own superior optics. Modern armored warfare depends largely on who can fire the first shot, so having a better or worse set of eyes can prove decisive.