The T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered production in 1973. It replaced the T-54/55 series as the workhorse of Soviet tank forces (while the T-64 and T-80 served as the Soviet high-technology tanks). In front-line Russian service, T-72s are being upgraded or augmented by the T-90, itself a modernized version of the T-72B. The T-72 has been exported and produced in many countries.

Operators

[Operators {{legend|#0b60d4|Current}}{{legend|#dc0023|Former|undefined | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/T-72///users.PNG]

Current operators

Evaluation / aggressor training

Former operators

1. 🇨🇿 – 543
2. 🇸🇰 – 272 – 35 T-72s (from USSR), 219 T-72s (from Poland and Czechoslovakia), 31 T-72Ms (from USSR), 162 T-72Ms (from Poland and Czechoslovakia) and 136 T-72M1s. 75 T-72s were fitted with additional hull armour. Passed on to the unified German state
3. 🇩🇪 – 549 tanks taken from the GDR's army, all scrapped, sold to other countries or given to museums.
4. Russian Federation (Flag 1991-1993) 🇷🇺 – 10,284
5. Republic of Belarus / 🇧🇾 – 1,797
6. 🇺🇦 – 1,044
7. 🇹🇲 – 702
8. 🇰🇿 – 700
9. 🇦🇿 – 325
10. 🇦🇲 – 246
11. Georgia (1991–2004) / – 219
12. 🇰🇬 – 150
13. 🇹🇯 – 44
14. 🇱🇹 – 398, all units transferred to Russia in 1993
15. 🇱🇻 – 114, all units transferred to Russia in 1994
16. 🇲🇩 – 0, no Soviet divisions stationed in Moldova fielded T-72s

Variants

Soviet Union and Russia

The T-72 was designed and first built in the Soviet Union.

Azerbaijan

Belarus

Bulgaria

Croatia

Czechoslovakia

Czech Republic

These variants are not new builds, but upgrades of a large number of otherwise obsolete T-72 version hulls.

East Germany

Georgia

India

By the late 1970s, Indian Army HQ had decided to acquire new-generation replacements for its UK-origin fleet of Centurion and Vijayanta MBTs (based on the Vickers MBT), and consequently, paper evaluations concerning the firepower and mobility characteristics of the two principal contenders being offered for full in-country production— French-origin AMX-40 and the British-origin Chieftain 800 — were conducted by the Indian Army. By early 1980, the Army chose the 43-tonne AMX-40 MBT, which was still in its design-stage. It was to be powered by a 1,100 hp Poyaud V12X 12-cylinder diesel engine coupled with a LSG-3000 automatic power shift transmission built by RENK Aktiengesellschaft of Germany offering a power-to-weight ratio of 25.6 hp/tonne, and armed with a 120 mm smoothbore cannon. However, AMX-40 had only marginal protection by the standards of 1980's. After the General elections in 1980, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi requested additional evaluation, including MBTs from the USSR, following which the Soviet Union's Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations (which after 1991 morphed into Oboronexport, then Rosoboronservice and ultimately Rosoboronexport State Corp) made a formal offer to India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) for supplying the 37-tonne T-72M Ob'yekt 172M-E4 MBT off-the-shelf, and according an approval for licensed-production of the 41.5-tonne T-72M-1982 Ob'yekt 172M-E6 to the MoD-owned Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) in Avadi. By early 1981, two T-72Ms—powered by a 780 hp diesel engine, armed with 125 mm 2A46M smoothbore gun and offering a power-to-weight ratio of 20 hp/tonne, were subjected to an exhaustive series of in-country firepower and mobility trials by the Army. After review of trial results, T-72M and T-72-1982 (powered by a Model V-84MS four-stroke 12-cylinder multi-fuel engine developing 840 hp and offering a power-to-weight ratio of 18.8 hp/tone) were selected as Army's future MBTs. Throughout the 1980s India continued to induct T-72 tanks followed by a licensed production line in Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) in Avadi, India since 1984.

Iran

Iraq

Poland

Romania

Serbia

Slovakia

South Africa

Syria

Ukraine

During the Russo-Ukrainian War's invasion by Russia phase from 2022 onward Ukrainian forces have used captured Russian tanks, including T-72s.

Yugoslavia