Russia is Incrementally Enhancing its New T-90M Tanks Based on Feedback From Frontline Operations

Russian state technology corporation Rostec has reported that the country’s primary type of main battle tank, the T-90M, is being continuously upgraded based on feedback from personnel in the Ukrainian theatre. “The T-90 is a well-known tank. It has become more powerful with enhanced armour and protection. This is an ongoing process. The armoured vehicle continues to be improved. Our specialists are refining the hardware based on new tasks coming from the frontline. The knowledge of fighters engaged in the special military operation, who have practical experience of operating our equipment, is useful for modernising hardware and creating new models,” Rostec’s press office quoted its Deputy CEO Nikolay Volobuyev as saying. The T-90M first entered service in April 2020, and is considered the most capable type of main battle tank in Russian service by a significant margin. 

Rostec’s press office further elaborated that the tank has in recent months received a significantly enhanced electronic warfare system. Extra protection of the engine-transmission compartment projection has also been added to the tank’s upper hemisphere defence. The tank’s producer Uralvagonzavod was also reported to be continuing efforts on further developing the tank’s passive and active defence systems and improving its operational and technical characteristics, with an emphasis on boosting the survivability and crew protection levels. The T-90M has seen its counter-drone capabilities enhanced with the integration of Russia’s first hard kill active protection system, the Arena-M, from late 2024. It was confirmed in early January 2026 that a new variant of the Arena-M system capable of intercepting single use drone and loitering munition attacks had completed development. 

The T-90M’s position as the most capable tank in Russian service is largely a result of the failure of the T-14 next generation tank program to bring the vehicles into service. This program was itself a less ambitious derivative of the Soviet T-95 program which sought to provide a clean sheet successor to the T-64 family of vehicles - which includes the T-72, T-80 and T-90. The T-90M is a very heavily enhanced derivative of the T-64, and while considered on par with the latest NATO main battle tanks such as the Leopard 2A8 and M1A2 Abrams, its capabilities are considered limited compared to next generation tanks such as the T-14, the Chinese Type 100, and the expected capabilities of the U.S. M1E3 and South Korean K3. This has raised questions regarding whether work will continue to belatedly develop the T-14 while heavy investments are made in parallel in significantly expanding the T-90M’s production scale. 

General Designer at Russia’s largest tank producer the Uralvagonzavod Group, Andrey Terlikov, in May projected that the T-90M would continue to be modernised for a decade. Referring to the baseline T-90 variant, he observed: “The tank was developed in the 1990s. Its service life is at least 50 years.” He added that Russian military personnel operating the enhanced T-90M variant have evaluated it to be "highly effective in carrying out combat missions.” Terlikov further noted that the T-90M is undergoing continuous modernisation to improve its performance characteristics, especially its armour protection, noting “that an “all-aspect fire protection system for the tank has been developed,” primarily for defence against drone attacks.