Poland is one of the largest military supporters of Ukraine. Poland already sent hundreds of soviet-designed tanks and is about to send 14 modern Leopard 2’s. However, in the coming few weeks Ukraine will also get 60 of the Polish PT-91 Twardy. What is this tank and why in some ways it may be even more significant than the Leopard 2 deliveries?
“Poland was the first country to deliver 250 tanks (to Ukraine – Ed.). This time we are ready to send 60 of our modernized PT-91 tanks, as well as 14 Leopard 2 tanks,” said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
The PT-91 “Twardy” is a heavily modified, updated version of the T-72M. Back in the Warsaw pact days during the Cold War Poland produced its own T-72 tanks under licence. In the 1980’s it started looking for a replacement.
Buying newer versions of the T-72 or even the much more modern T-80 was considered, but the political situation in 1989 made this impossible. On the other hand, the same situation made tanks even more important for Poland. Therefore, it was decided to update and modify the T-72M, correcting all its major weaknesses.
The PT-91 is actually very different from the T-72 on which it was based. Reactive armor plates, more powerful engines, a better fire control system, a new loading mechanism, and many smaller and larger improvements took the PT-91 to a higher level of combat effectiveness.
One of the biggest shortcomings of the T-72M – poor gun stabilization – has also been solved. This allows the tank to acquire the target quicker, even while on the move. On the other hand, the same smoothbore 125 mm gun is used, which means that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be able to use the same ammunition as they do with T-72s.
This, by the way, is probably the biggest advantage of the PT-91 Twardy right now. The 60 tanks that Poland will deliver to Ukraine in the coming weeks will be ready for immediate use. Ukraine can push them into service without delays, they will not require a long training period, because Ukrainian know how to use the T-72 platform.
In total, 232 PT-91 “Twardy” tanks – 92 new and 140 modernized – have been made for the Polish Armed Forces. Another 48 PT-91s are in service in Malaysia. Although there are no exact numbers, there is no doubt that there was more than one PT-91 among the T-72s previously donated to Ukraine. This means that the new delivery of 60 will not bring any surprises to logistics officers or tank crews.
Ukraine is getting an incredible number of tanks now. In the coming months Ukraine will get close to a hundred Leopard 2 tanks, 31 Abrams, 14 Challenger 2, and many other MBTs. While there are rumors about Ukraine planning a large counteroffensive, this newly acquired military power will likely be used to suppress new Russian attacks, forecasted for the spring.
Sources: Censor.net , Wikipedia