T-90MS Bhishma
Type: Main Battle Tank
Domain: land
Country of Origin: Russia
Manufacturer: Uralvagonzavod (UVZ)
Overview
India's most numerous main battle tank — a licensed production variant of the Russian T-90S with significant Indian upgrades and localisation. Named "Bhishma" after a warrior from the Mahabharata, the Indian T-90S/Bhishma features French Catherine-FC thermal imaging, Israeli ELOP TSGS gunner sight, Kanchan composite armour developed by DRDO for the frontal arc (replacing Russian Kontakt-5 ERA in later batches), and air conditioning for desert operations (critical for the Thar Desert deployment). Armed with a 125mm 2A46M smoothbore gun with autoloader, firing APFSDS, HEAT, and HE rounds plus the 9M119 Refleks gun-launched anti-tank missile (5 km range). Powered by a V-92S2 diesel producing 1,000 hp. Weight of 46.5 tonnes. India has produced over 1,500 T-90S tanks under licence at Heavy Vehicles Factory Avadi, making it the largest T-90 fleet outside of Russia. The T-90MS variant features further upgrades including Relikt ERA and improved fire control.
Technical Specifications
| crew | 3 (autoloader replaces loader) |
|---|---|
| range | 550 km (internal) |
| engine | V-92S2 diesel (1,000 hp) |
| weight | ~46 tonnes |
| max_speed | 65 km/h |
| secondary | 12.7mm Kord HMG; 7.62mm PKT coax |
| protection | Kontakt-5 ERA; Shtora-1 DIRCM; composite armor |
| main_armament | 125mm 2A46M smoothbore gun (autoloader) |
Operators
- Egypt
- India
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