Editing T-90A Vladimir (section)

==History==
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|-|T-90A
====T-90A===
Class: Main Battle Tank<br>
Developed: 2000-2004<br>
Service: 2004+<br>
Vehicles Built: cca 600<br>
Operators: Russia, India, Algeria, Azerbaijan

The T-90A Main Battle Tank (named "Vladimir" in honor of its deceased designer, V.V.Potkin) is an upgraded variant of the original T-90, which itself is a heavily overhauled T-72. Development of the T-90A started under the designation of Object 188A1 in the very late 1990s and early 2000s with the first vehicles produced in 2004. The goal, as usual, was to bring the older vehicle up to date to keep up with modern armor trends, while keeping the upgrade within Russian military budget constrictions. In this sense, the T-90A is a reactive measure, unlike the T-80U for example.

The main visual difference between the T-90 and the T-90A MBT is the presence of a new, welded turret, offering, in combination with the excellent Kontakt-5 ERA kit, increased protection against all types of ammunition. Frontal resistance against HEAT rounds is estimated at 1000mm+ RHAe, although the actual composition is a secret. The vehicle is also equipped with a Shtora-1M soft-kill APS and Tucha smoke grenade launchers. The main weapon system is the 125mm 2A46M-5 smoothbore gun paired with an improved automatic loading mechanism and the 9K119M Refleks-M system, allowing it to fire Invar guided missiles. The original 840hp V-84MS diesel engine was replaced with an advanced turbocharged version of the same engine, the V-92S2 producing 1000hp.

There are two main patterns, both built by Uralvagonzavod in Nizhny Tagil: the 2004 pattern with Buran-M thermal imager (32 built between 2004 and 2006) and the 2006 pattern with French Catherine FC thermal imager (337 built between 2006 and 2011). Neither of these thermal imagers is actually Russian and the inability to produce high-end components such as thermal imager matrices has long been a thorn in Russian's side. These production numbers do not include the export variant called T-90SA (approximately 200 built).

The T-90A itself currently remains in Russian service only. Some sources claim the T-90A took part in the 2016 fighting in Syria as part of the Russian contingent or that it was simply transferred to Syrian forces. One such T-90 was hit there by a TOW-2A missile. Thanks to its ERA, it survived relatively unscathed with only minor injury suffered by one of the crewmembers. One T-90A transferred to the Syrians was, however, lost and subsequently captured by the Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki terrorist group during the fighting in Aleppo in June 2016. Regardless of the circumstances, the T-90 has proven itself to be a tough nut to crack.
|-|T-90SA
====T-90SA===
Class: Main Battle Tank<br>
Developed: 2000-2004<br>
Service: 2006+<br>
Vehicles Built: 200-500 (sources vary)<br>
Operators: Algeria<br>

The T-90SA is actually an export version of the Russian T-90S (T-90 with a welded turret), which itself is a predecessor to the T-90A. Multiple vehicle configurations of the T-90SA exist. The Algerian version features several distinctive elements such as the air conditioning system on the left side of the turret as well as a modernized version of the Shtora soft-kill APS. How many were built for Algeria is actually unclear. Some sources claim roughly 200 tanks were delivered between 2006 and 2008 while others claim more than 500 vehicles were delivered in several batches from 2006 to 2017. They are currently still in Algerian service and have recently been joined by the Russian pattern BMPTs.
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