In this conflict between Russia and Ukraine, both the Russian and Ukrainian armies invested heavily in main battle tanks. War experience once again proved that tanks are still the main strike weapons of ground forces. Their powerful advantages in firepower, protection and mobility, regardless of It has irreplaceable significance for both offensive and defensive operations. Although large-scale tank battles rarely occur on the Ukrainian battlefield, the tank losses on both sides of the battle are still very high. This is mainly because both sides have invested a large number of anti-tank weapons, such as anti-tank missiles missiles, heavy rocket launchers and fighter jets. On the current battlefield in Ukraine, the Russian armored forces mainly use T-72 and T-80 main battle tanks. A small amount of T-90s have also been put into combat, while the Ukrainian armored units mainly use T-64 tanks. Compared with the improved model of T-72, the main battle tanks equipped by both sides are basically at the same level, and there is no fundamental difference in main performance.
However, the Russian "Military Review" website recently reported that on the southern front line of the Ukrainian battlefield, a military column loaded with a large number of T-62 main battle tanks appeared heading to the front line. This means that the frontline Russian army began to use outdated The T-62 main battle tank was put into combat. The T-62 main battle tank is a second-generation main battle tank that was successfully developed in the late 1950s. It is a further modernization and upgrade based on the T-55. The T-62 main battle tank was produced until 1975, with a total of about 20,000 units produced. Russia still has a large inventory of T-62s.
In fact, the performance of the T-62 main battle tank has lagged far behind the third-generation T-64, T-72 and T-80 series main battle tanks in all aspects. Its main gun uses a 115mm tank gun. It is not the mainstream 125mm tank gun of the third-generation tank , and it is only equipped with the most primitive telescopic sight. It does not have a modern aiming system such as a rangefinder, and it does not have the ability to move and hit the target at all. In addition, the T-62 main battle tank is not equipped with active protection devices such as explosive reactive armor. Its weak armor cannot withstand attacks from modern anti-tank rockets and missiles. Even the powerful third-generation main battle tanks such as the T-72 and T-80 have frequently suffered battle losses in the current battlefield. The T-62 with more backward performance will be more difficult to compete in the current cruel battlefield environment.
So why does the Russian army send these outdated second-generation main battle tanks to the front line? Is the Russian army’s tank reserve really not enough? This is not the case. Russia has the largest tank reserve in the world. Its tank reserve base stores more than 20,000 main battle tanks of various types. Among them, only third-generation main battle tanks such as T-64, T-72 and T-80 are included. Just over thousands of vehicles. For example, the Russian army stores 700 T-80UD main battle tanks built during the Soviet period. These tanks were only put into use in 1984. Even for modern times, they are very advanced tanks. They are in good condition and can be put into use on the front line immediately. The Russian army has more advanced third-generation main battle tanks that it does not use, but chooses to use outdated second-generation main battle tanks. Obviously, there are deeper reasons.
From a strategic level, Russia’s opponent is not only Ukraine, but also a more powerful opponent NATO . Russia must ensure that it has enough advanced tank reserves to deal with this threat, rather than blindly focusing on the current Ukrainian battlefield. Therefore, as far as the current Ukrainian battlefield is concerned, it is far from exhausting Russia's huge tank reserves. There is no doubt that Russia still has sufficient reserves of third-generation main battle tanks. The reason why the Russian army invested T-62 main battle tanks in the front line is that in addition to high-intensity combat operations such as frontal front-line combat and urban street fighting, which require a large number of tanks, other low-intensity combat and auxiliary operations also require a large number of tanks, and these secondary There is no need to use precious third-generation main battle tank resources for combat missions. Second-generation main battle tanks like the T-62 are fully capable of the task.
It is undeniable that even after modernization, the T-62 main battle tank will inevitably suffer serious losses when performing frontal assaults and urban assault battles, but it can still play an important role when performing other auxiliary combat tasks. For example, the T-62 tank can be incorporated into the second echelon as a self-propelled artillery to support frontline operations, or it can be half-buried underground to build a solid support point to protect important bases or hubs. In the first phase of the special operation, due to the rapid advancement of the Russian army, its rear was not effectively covered and was often attacked by enemy troops and suffered serious losses. The Russian rearguard force does not include heavy equipment such as main battle tanks. It is very difficult to deal with attacks by enemy anti-tank infantry units and is prone to serious battle losses. It is undoubtedly very suitable to integrate the outdated T-62 tanks into these rearguard units to perform key area defense tasks. It can significantly improve the defense capabilities of the Russian army's rear areas, and this does not require the use of the Russian army's main front-line tank force resources.
In fact, the T-62 main battle tank not only appeared on the Ukrainian battlefield, but also performed well on the Syrian battlefield. Its latest modernized and improved model, the T-62M, is equipped with modern communications and targeting systems, and its armor protection has also been improved. It has been strengthened and equipped with explosive reactive armor, and can even launch guided artillery shells . Its tactical performance can still meet the needs of modern warfare. Although the intensity of combat in the Ukrainian battlefield is far from comparable to that of the Syrian battlefield, putting T-62 tanks into low-intensity combat operations is by no means a reckless move. Instead, it reflects the Russian army's rational use of tank resources. Modern warfare consumes various weapons and equipment at an unprecedented rate. The Russian army’s reasonable and effective use of reserve weapons and equipment is very worthy of our reference. After all, our country also reserves thousands of Type 59 tanks. Proper use of these outdated tanks It is also of strategic significance to our national defense construction.
