October 10, 2012. Two decades ago, in October 1992, the Russian Army’s primary combat tank, the unique ‘flying’ T-90, was put into service.

Т-90 was designed by the experts from the Ural Transport Machine-Building Design Office that is now a part of Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation; the model was based on many years’ research of how the T-72 tanks were used in various parts of the world in real-life combat. Thanks to its creators’ great experience and thanks to the rich traditions of the Office, the T-90 embodied the best features that made UVZ’s earlier tanks T-34, Т54/55, Т-62, and Т-72 famous: the dependability of all the joints, units, and sets, operation ease, and very little effort required to train the crew and the maintenance team,’ the corporation’s press service reports.

The weaponry unit with shooting range up to 5,000 meters, the 2nd generation ESSA imaging infrared system that ensures the night-time shooting range of at least 3,500 meters, the turbo-charging 1,000 horsepower diesel engine, and many other features make the T-90 one of the best new products of the nineties. The export orders Uralvagonzavod received for the T-90C at the time meant the Nizhniy Tagil-based company was able to survive in the difficult years as well as to retain its unique team and great scientific, technical, and intellectual potential.

In the summer of 1999, two T-90C tanks were thoroughly tested in the Thar Desert in India: the tests included the ones that any other vehicle in the world is not likely to survive. With temperature at 53 degrees above by day and about 30 degrees by night, inside a thick layer of dust, and without any roads whatsoever, every T-90 tested passed several thousand kilometers. Impressed by the tests, the military attaché at the India’s Embassy in Moscow, Brigadier General D. Singh said, ‘In terms of efficiency, the T-90C is the second best deterrent after nuclear weapons.’