Moscow has resurrected its old fleet of Soviet-era T-62 tanks to aid in its invasion of Ukraine.
Last month, a video showing dozens of retired T-62s being delivered to the occupied city of Melitopol by train was widely circulated on social media. Since the start of the war in February, Russian forces have lost more than 700 of their most advanced tanks, including tanks from the Russian fleet of T-72, T-80 y T-90. To make up for these heavy losses, Russia is turning to its aging and extremely vulnerable fleet of older platforms.
However, the inadequacies of T-62 they will likely only compound Moscow’s failures on the ground.
Back to the 60’s
The UK Ministry of Defense confirmed visual representations of Russian T-62 tanks traveling through Ukraine. The ministry detailed that the fleet was being moved from deep storage to support the Southern Grouping of Forces in combat. Furthermore, British intelligence claimed that the old tank fleet would be especially susceptible to anti-tank weaponry.
“As a result of the losses suffered during the hostilities, the Russian enemy was forced to withdraw T-62 tanks from storage in order to recruit tactical groups of reserve battalions that are being formed to be sent to Ukraine. In addition, the equipment that was damaged and restored at the repair and renovation plant is used to replace lost weapons and military equipment,” the ministry said.
The T-62 is a second generation main battle tank that was first introduced in 1961. Intended to replace the old model T-55 of the country, became the standard tank in the Soviet arsenal. His upgrades included a 115mm U-5TS main gun and a coaxially mounted 7.62mm PK-T machine gun, according to Popular Mechanics. This attribute was extremely unique when the T-62 was introduced, as tanks of the time used rifled barrels to fire HEAT rounds at targets. The T-62 also had thicker armor on the front of its hull than its T-55 predecessor.
Some improvements
Over the years the T-62 has undergone some improvements to help protect the tank from anti-tank missiles. In the early 1980s, the T-62 evolved into the T-62M. The new variant was equipped with increased frontal turret protection, which improved the platform’s chances of survivability in combat. According to The Drive, tanks traveling to occupied Ukraine today are equipped with raised louvre or cage armor. This upgrade would mitigate the superior attack profiles used by anti-tank missiles that might be fired by Ukrainian forces. Additionally, the plate armor appears to be mounted vertically on the tank deck, further increasing protection.
Experts estimate that Russia’s arsenal includes regarding 10,000 tanks. This figure indicates that while Moscow has resorted to shipping aging T-62s, thousands of T-72s and T-80s are still available. However, these more modern tanks are not likely to be in operational condition, forcing Moscow to resort to their inferior variant.
To date, experts say that the T-62 has not been used by Russian forces in their operation in Ukraine. However, his eventual inclusion in the battle is likely.
About the author: Maya Carlin is Middle East Advocacy Editor at 19FortyFive. She is also an analyst at the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy fellow at Israel’s IDC Herzliya. She has been featured in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and the Times of Israel.
