Origin

The T-64 was perhaps the world's most advanced battle tank design when introduced, but early problems with its engine 5TDF (a diesel 'boxer', similar to the L60 of the Chieftains), the roadwheels, and inaccuracy of its main gun prompted Soviet leadership to seek a low-tech alternative with similar performance, especially after the high unit costs and labour-intensive manufacture process of the T-64 became obvious. The tank was too expensive to equip all the Soviet tank armies, let alone Warsaw Pact (WARPAC) allies. Object 172 at the Kubinka Tank Museum An "economy" tank with the old design V-46 powerplant was developed from 1967 at the Uralvagonzavod Factory located in Nizhny Tagil. Chief engineer Leonid Kartsev created "Object 172", the initial design, but the prototype, marked "Object 172M", was refined and finished by Valeri Venediktov. Field trials lasted from 1971 to 1973 and upon acceptance the Chelyabinsk Tank factory immediately ceased T-55 and T-62 production to retool for the new T-72 tank. At least some technical documentation on the T-72 is known to have been passed to the CIA by the Polish Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski between 1971 and 1982. Since 2000, export vehicles have been offered with thermal imaging night-vision gear of French manufacture as well (though it may be more likely that they might simply use the locally manufactured 'Buran-Catherine' system, which incorporates a French thermal imager). Depleted uranium armour-piercing ammunition for the 125 mm gun has been manufactured in Russia in the form of the BM-32 projectile since around 1978, though it has never been deployed, and is less penetrating than the later tungsten BM-42 and the newer BM-42M, which compares in penetrating ability to the German DM-53.