T-72 MP

The KMDB developed a number of upgrade packages for the T-72 tank including T-72AG, T-72MP and T-72-120. The T-72MP was developed in cooperation with the French Sagem company and the PSP Bohemia company of the Czech Republic. The tank was fitted with the French Sagem SAVAN15 fire-control system. Modernisation of T-72 tanks is carried out in three key areas: improvement of mobility by installing a 1000 hp engine or 1200hp engine; increase of protection by installing additional add-on armour plates on the hull glacis plate and on the turret front as well as by installing explosive reactive armour; enhancement of firepower by installing up-to-date sighting systems, armament control drives, ballistic computer etc.

M47

The M47 Patton was the second tank of the Patton series, and one of the U.S army's principal main battle tanks of the Cold War, with models in service from the early 1950s to the late 1950s. The M47 was the U.S. Army and Marine Corps primary tank intended to replace the M46 Patton tank. It was widely used by U.S. Cold War allies, both SEATO and NATO countries, and was the only Patton series tank that never saw combat while serving with US forces. The tank belongs to the Patton family of tanks, named after General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. Third Army during World War II and one of the earliest American advocates for the use of tanks in battle. It was a further development of the M46 Patton tank.
The M47 Patton tank was designed to replace the previous M46 Pattons and M4 Shermans. Although largely resembling the later M48s and M60s, these were completely new tank designs despite a rough similarity from a distance. Internationally, many various M47 Patton models remain in service

M41

The M41 was developed from the T37 series of light tank design that were to replace the

Chaffee following World War II. While the M41 was highly manueverable, reasonably potent, simple to operate, and effective in combat, it also used fuel at an alarming rate and was extremely noisy. Its main gun was fully stabilised and very accurate for the time. Produced in the 1950´s by Cadillac´s Cleveland Tank Plant with first production models completed in 1951. By 1953 the M41 Bulldog had totally replaced the M24 Chaffee. The US did not use the M41 in combat in Vietnam but did provide a number of them to the South Vietnamese during 1965 as part of a massive re-equipment program. The M41 was highly effective against North Vietnamese T-54/55 tanks in the Vietnam war with its 76mm gun. However, in Vietnam the M41 suffered from being too light for most traditional battlefield support tasks and too heavy for most internal security tasks.
The AVDS series of engine, eventually used in the M60 Main Battle Tank, can trace their lineage back to the 1940's with the advent of the R670 Radial Aircraft Engine. The first engine bearing a resemblence to the M60's AVDS 1790 engines was the AOS 895 engine, produced for the army in the 1950's, and utilized in the M41 Tank and the M42A1 self propelled twin guns.

Scorpion 2000

Scorpion 2000 is a project by the British company Repaircraft PLC to refurbish and upgrade the Scorpion tank for 2000 onwards. Modifications include the addition of an auxiliary power unit with secondary generator to provide electrical power and to drive air conditioning without running the main engine. The track and suspension have been improved and increased storage space is provided. The Spartan APC and the Sultan Command vehicle are also available with similar improvements. And, if you have ever wondered how much a (light) tank costs, Scorpion prices start at about 200,000 (12/1999).

Strv-103B

Sweden has never been afraid to follow its own path on defence matters, and nowhere is this more apparent than with the radical S-Tank, more officially known as the Strv 103. In essence a super self-propelled gun, the S-Tank was armed with a 105 mm gun mounted rigidly in an extraordinarily low, heavily sloped hull; in order to train the gun, the entire vehicle has to be moved both in traverse and elevation. Due to the extreme importance of mobility, the S-Tank was fitted with two engines, one an auxiliary gas turbine to provide emergency power.
I have fond memories of the S-Tank, having built the ancient Aurora 1/48 scale kit (pivoting suspension and all) when it first came out. That model is long gone, but that unique armoured vehicle's distinctive lines stayed with me long afterwards. It is a sign of just how good things are for 21st century armour modelers that I can now build a state of the art injection-moulded kit of this relatively obscure vehicle, thanks to Trumpeter of China.
This company has come a long way since their first releases, extraordinarily poor knock-offs of Tamiya kits and motorized monstrosities. Their recent IS-3M and now the S-Tank set new standards of quality for Trumpeter, and all at approximately half the cost of a typical Tamiya armour kit. Trumpeter has released both the initial Strv 103B version and the later Strv 103C, with different tracks and supplemental armour (including skirts made of fuel tanks!).

T-90S

The pride & joy of the Indian Armoured Corps' latest behemoth - the 46.5 ton, T-90S MBT - on display for the press at a firepower demo held in January 2006 at a firing range near Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. The tank represents a technological leap over the current workhorse, the T-72M1.
An jawan hops on-board the T-90S MBT during the firepower demo at the army's firing range in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. The camouflage applied on these tanks are bright orange/yellow, with an abundant spread of dark olive green - perfect to blend in with the terrain.

The T-90S MBT - known as Bhisma in the Indian Army - will constitute around 30% of the Indian Army's combat tank force. Licensed production of the tank is likely to begin in 2006-07 at Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi.
A pair of Indian Army T-90S MBTs at the 2003 Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi. The T-90S [Improved] is the export version of the Russian T-90M and features a welded turret, the V-92S2 engine and an ESSA thermal viewer. The Indian Army's T-90S is not to be confused with the simplified T-90S export version.

Type-99

The Type 99, also known as ZTZ-99 and WZ-123, developed from the Type 98G (in turn, a development of the Type 98), is a 3rd generation main battle tank (MBT) fielded by the Chinese People's Liberation Army. It has increased firepower, mobility and protection compared to older tanks such as the Type 59, Type 69/79, and Type 88. Though not expected to be acquired in large numbers due to its high cost compared to the more economical Type 96, it is currently the most advanced MBT fielded by China.

Type 85-II

The Type 85 tank is a modifications of the Type 80, which was in turn based on the Soviet T-54, with an improved turret changed from cast design to welded design. It was formally revealed by NORINCO in 1989. Firing trials were conducted sometime in mid-1989 according to Jane's Armour and Artillery 1994-95.
The Type 85-II and Type 85-IIA have been developed with a welded turret that can be fitted with additional armor protection. Exact differences between the Type 85 and Type 85-II are unknown; although the Type 85-II is slightly heavier and shorter in length. Armament is the same as in the Type 80 except that the Type 85-II can carry 46 rounds of 105-mm ammunition while the Type 85-IIA can carry 44 rounds.
The layout of the Type-85 is conventional, like other Chinese tanks, with the driver in the front, combat compartment in the center, and engine in the rear. The driver's seat is located on the left and is accessible through a hatch. There are two periscopes at the driver's station that allow a forward view, one of these periscopes may be replaced by a passive periscope when having to drive at night.
The commander's station is on the right side of the turret and is equipped with a cupola and a periscope that can be rotated 360 degrees.
The gunner's position is on the left side of the turret and has a single piece hatch that can allow a periscope or a snorkel to be installed for fording. The gunner's sight is located on the turret roof and is forward of the hatch.

T-72

The T-72, which entered production in 1971, was first seen in public in 1977. The T-72, introduced in the early 1970s, is not a further development of the T-64, but rather a parallel design chosen as a high-production tank complementing the T-64. The T-72 retains the low silhouette of the T-54/55/62 series, featuring a conventional layout with integrated fuel cells and stowage containers which give a streamlined appearance to the fenders. While the T-64 was deployed only in forward-deployed Soviet units, the T-72 was deployed within the USSR and exported to non-Soviet Warsaw Pact armies and several other countries. In addition to production in the USSR it has been built under license in Czechoslovakia, India, Poland and former Yugoslavia.
DESCRIPTION:
The T-72 medium tank is similar in general appearance to the T-64.
The T-72 has six large, die-cast, rubber-coated road wheels and three track return rollers. It has a 14-tooth drive sprocket and a single-pin track with rubber-bushed pins.
The gunner's IR searchlight is mounted to the right of the main gun. The 12.7-mm NSV anti-aircraft machine gun has a rotating mount, and there is no provision for firing it from within the tank. There are normally only a few small stowage boxes on the outside of the turret, and a single short snorkel is stowed on the left side of the turret.
The T-72 has a larger engine compartment than the T-64, and the radiator grill is near the rear of the hull.

The T-90S is the latest development in the T-series of Russian tanks and represents an increase in firepower, mobility and protection. It is manufactured by Uralvagonzavod in Nizhnyi Tagil, Russia.
The T-90S entered service with the Russian Army in 1992. In February 2001, the Indian Army signed a contract for 310 T-90S tanks. 124 were completed in Russia and the rest are being delivered in 'knocked down / semi-knocked down' form for final assembly in India.
"The T-90S Russian tank represents an increase in firepower, mobility and protection."
The first of these was delivered in January 2004. The locally assembled tanks are christened 'Bhishma'. The tanks are fitted with the Shtora self-protection system and Catherine thermal imagers from Thales of France and Peleng of Belarus.
In January 2005, it was announced that a further 91 T-90S tanks would be procured for the Russian Army, although this number was later reduced. 31 tanks are due to be delivered in 2006.
In March 2006, Algeria signed a contract for the supply of 180 T-90S tanks from Uralvagonzavod, to be delivered by 2011.
In November 2006, India ordered a further 300 T-90 tanks, to be licence-built by Heavy Vehicle Factory (HVF), Avadi. Deliveries are to begin in 2008.

The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1941 to 1958. It is widely regarded to have been the world's best tank when the Soviet Union entered World War II, and although its armor and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it is credited as the war's most effective, efficient and influential design. First produced at the KhPZ factory in Kharkov (Kharkiv, Ukraine), it was the mainstay of Soviet armoured forces throughout World War II, and widely exported afterwards. It was the most-produced tank of the war, and the second most-produced tank of all time, after its successor, the T-54/55 series. A 1996 publication showed that the T-34 was still in service with twenty-seven countries.
The T-34 was developed from the BT series of fast tanks, and was intended to replace both the BT-5 and BT-7 tanks and the T-26 infantry tank in service (Zaloga & Grandsen 1984:66, 111). At its introduction, it was the tank with the best balance and attributes of firepower, mobility, and protection in existence, although initially its battlefield effectiveness suffered from the unsatisfactory ergonomic layout of its crew compartment, lack of radios and poor tactical employment. The two-man turret crew arrangement required the commander to also serve as the gunner, an arrangement common to most Soviet tanks of the day; this proved to be inferior to the German arrangement of three men (commander, gunner and loader).
The design and construction of the tank were continuously refined during the war to improve effectiveness and decrease costs, allowing steadily greater numbers of tanks to be fielded. In late 1943, the improved T-34-85 was introduced, with a more powerful 85 mm gun and a three-man turret design. By the war's end in 1945, the versatile and cost-effective T-34 had replaced many light and heavy tanks in service, and accounted for the majority of Soviet tank production. Its evolutionary development would lead directly to the T-54/55 series of tanks, built until 1981 and still operated today.