Service

The Russian Federation has over 5000 T-72 tanks in use, including around 2000 in active service and 3,000 in reserves. The T-72 has been used by over 40 countries worldwide. Some analysts believe that T-72s 125 mm 2A46 main gun is capable of destroying any modern main battle tank in the world today. However, on the three occasions when users of T-72s have met Western armies that possessed modern main battle tanks —Lebanon in 1982 (against the Israeli Merkava and the US made M-60), Iraq in 1991 (against the U.S. M1 Abrams, M-60A1s and the British Challenger 1), and again Iraq in 2003— the T-72 showed little to no success. After clashes in Lebanon in 1982, both the Israelis and the Syrians claimed their main tanks superiority. In both the Gulf War and the Iraq War, the Iraqi tank units were heavily defeated, although this might have more to do with poor Iraqi crew training and full Allied air supremacy than with any deficiencies of the T-72 itself. Furthermore, while facing the most modern Western tanks, the versions the Iraqi army fielded were out of date at the time. The Iraqi T-72s were less-capable export versions that had not been significantly upgraded, and were firing inferior ammunition (often with steel penetrators and half-charges of propellant). In January 2009, it was reported that the Iraqi government is negotiating a deal to purchase up to 2000 T-72 tanks. The T-72s are to be rebuilt and modernized. In September 2009 it was announced that Venezuela is planning to purchase 92 Russian T-72 tanks.