Leaked documents provide new insights into Uralvagonzavod’s production plan: according to them, Russia’s largest tank manufacturer will soon begin production of the T-90M2 Ryvok-1. Compared to 2024, the production of modern tanks is set to increase by almost 80 percent by 2029.
The Russian tank camps are emptying
Only time will tell whether this is feasible. The fact is that Russia has made enormous efforts over the past two to three years to make tanks that have been in storage for many years operational again and to return them to the front in Ukraine (
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).
Satellite images of these large tank camps (
-> Where are the 10,000 Russian tanks?
) – especially from recent times – show that this restoration work is increasingly shifting to models from the 1970s and 1960s due to a lack of suitable younger vehicles. T-72As (built between 1979 and 1985) were first spotted again at Uralwagonsawod in August 2025. Their number is estimated at up to 1,500 vehicles.
Russian bloggers report that Uralvagonzavod is currently examining plans to modernize these tanks, as the available T-72Bs (1985 to 1992) are running out in the foreseeable future. Background: A T-72A cannot be upgraded to the standard T-72B3M or T-72B4 – the structural differences are too great. The supply of modern main battle tanks for the Russian army must therefore increasingly come from new production.
Award for the Russian “Engineer of the Year” as an indication
The Frontelligence Insight Blog found codenames such as 188M, Proryv-3 and 188M2 while searching for new Russian tank projects.
An award from the “Russian Union of Scientific and Technical Public Associations” to Andrey Sergeevich Rokhmanko as “Engineer of the Year” provides further evidence of ongoing projects. Rokhmanko is apparently a specialist and senior designer at a company for weapon stabilizers and remote weapon control systems. The award mentions his work on a large number of Russian combat vehicles – including the T-90M2 Ryvok-1.
Almost 1,800 T-90 tanks in the next ten years
According to the documents analyzed, production of the new T-90M2 is scheduled to start in 2026 with an initial ten units.
From 2027 to 2036, recapitalization, modernization and new production of the T-90M and T-90M2 will run in parallel, with new production so far only scheduled until 2029. The total number of 1,783 vehicles included in the program should be available within a decade – 1,128 by 2029 and a further 655 by 2036.
A modernization programme for T-72 tanks to the T-72B3M type is running in parallel. Of the total of 828 vehicles mentioned, 498 are to be completed before the end of this decade. Figures are also given for the BMPT Terminator: A total of 86 vehicles are to be produced or modernized between 2027 and 2036.
Is there an “elephant in the room”?
It is striking that the year 2030 is left open in the documents. While production capacity increases from 555 to 610 vehicles from 2027 to 2028, it falls to 481 from 2029 and to only around 175 vehicles per year from 2031. For new production from 2030 in particular, the documents provide hardly any concrete details – it is unclear how this gap is to be filled.
In June, the Conflict Intelligence Team estimated Uralvagonzavod’s current production capacity for new T-90 vehicles at 250 to 300 tanks per year. At the end of 2021, it was still around 60 vehicles per year.
Brigadier Wolfgang Luttenberger über Militärluftfahrt und digitale Kriegsführung
In addition to the T-90 program, Russia is apparently also pushing ahead with the development of the TSMC Shturm.
Details of the TSMC Shturm
The Shturm is described by Russian bloggers as a heavy, robotic attack complex. A video of a currently still manned test vehicle appeared on Russian social networks in July.
The system also includes a manned command vehicle, which was spotted together with the prototype at the entrance to the factory premises in Nizhny Tagil.
The presumed development vehicle is based on a T-72 chassis. A shortened 125-millimeter cannon is conspicuous; the installation of a 152-millimeter cannon is apparently planned. The vehicle is also to be equipped with rocket launchers, flamethrowers, a dozer blade and additional armor and is considered particularly suitable for urban combat.
According to the latest satellite images, there are still almost 1,500 T-72A vehicles in these warehouses that could be suitable for conversion into a turret.
Details of the T-90M2 Ryvok-1
What exactly is planned for the Ryvok-1 is still unclear. However, a document from the Main Administration for Armored Vehicles of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, which is available to Militär Aktuell, provides some clues.
It lists the test results of captured Western tanks from the war in Ukraine, compares their strengths and weaknesses and contains suggestions for improving Russian models.
Among other things:
- a revision of the transmission design to increase the maximum reverse speed (currently 5 to 10 km/h, western tanks such as Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 reach up to 30 km/h);
- improved ease of repair thanks to quick-release couplings and modular cable routing;
- as well as the installation of larger displays to increase situational awareness – with screen diagonals of at least 38 centimeters.
In Russian tank forums, hardly anyone believes in a resumption of Armata production, as its electronic components have hardly been available to Russia since the sanctions of 2014.
However, it is likely that the development of the T-90M2 Ryvok-1 will make use of technical findings from the Armata program – particularly with regard to new protection systems against drone attacks.
Here for more news about the Russian armed forces.
