Why Russia's Cold War battle tank continues to be a deadly enemy on the battlefield

Soviet-designed T-72 battle tanks have become a common sight at the hands of Russian troops on the battlefields in Ukraine.

The vehicle has been around since the 1970s and is one of the most widely used main battle tanks in the world - it is in service with the armies of 35 nations across the world. 

Tank expert David Willey, curator at the Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset, explained to Forces News how and why the T-72 tank has remained such an effective weapon in modern warfare. 

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Mr Willey said: "The Soviets built a series of tanks, and the T-72 is the Type 72. The Type 72 went into service in 1972.

"They are built in large numbers, and over 15,000 of these were used by the Soviet forces and nowadays there are an awful lot of these still in use around the world. They were exported and sold on.

"It's got this very low profile. It's got thick frontal armour. Back in the days of the Cold War, you knew where your enemies were, so you put your thickest armour on the front, your side armour is thinner and your rear armour is the thinnest."

He added: "On the whole, Nato tanks tend to have better ergonomics, better crew positions, and better room for them. These (T-72) are very small type tanks.

"The Soviet Union insisted the crew members be 5.3ft (161cm) or 5.4ft (164cm), any higher or taller and you weren't allowed in.

"It also had what is called aggressive tracks. They have metal with cleats on to dig into the earth.

"Nato tanks would always have rubber pads on because if it were driving on a public road, these would just rip up that tarmac

"In Nato we're part of a civil society, and we cannot afford to be driving around ruining every road we go along."

The tank is fitted with a 125mm smoothbore gun which allow it to fire thin rounds, like a metal dart that can smash through enemy armour.

Mr Willey said: "The firepower on this is very effective. Their sighting system perhaps wasn't as good or sophisticated as those used in Nato.

"But one of the issues with T-72 is that over time they've had upgrades, and they brought in other products to add to the vehicle.

"There is a lot of confusion because a lot of the time it is almost impossible to find two T-72 tanks that look exactly alike because they may have been going through different rebuild programs and have different upgrades on them and field modification."