Russia deploys vintage T-62 tanks and BTR-50 armoured vehicles that have many vulnerabilities

The Russian military has continued to respond to heavy armoured vehicle losses by deploying vintage equipment that presents many vulnerabilities on the modern battlefield.

Source: European Pravda; UK Defence Intelligence on Twitter

Details: The Russian military has continued, in particular, to deploy 60-year-old T-62 main battle tanks (MBT). There is a realistic possibility that even units of the 1st Guards Tank Army (1 GTA), supposedly Russia’s premier tank force, will be re-equipped with T-62s to make up for previous losses, the report reads.

UK Intelligence states that 1 GTA had previously been due to receive the next-generation T-14 Armata MBT from 2021.

In recent days, Russian BTR-50 armoured personnel carriers, first fielded in 1954, have also been identified as having been deployed in Ukraine for the first time, the report remarks.

Since summer 2022, approximately 800 T-62s have been taken from storage and some have received upgraded sighting systems, which will highly likely improve their effectiveness at night.

However, both these vintage vehicle types will present many vulnerabilities on the modern battlefield, including the absence of modern explosive reactive armour.

Earlier, UK Defence Intelligence reported that the Russians are going into battle with shovels, which shows the low-tech nature of their actions.

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