T-95

T-95
Type	Main battle tank
Place of origin	Russia
Service history
In service	Cancelled
Production history
Designer	Kartsev-Venediktov

The T-95 was a future main battle tank, in development at the Russian Federation's Uralvagonzavod plant (designers of the T-72 and T-90 series, and the largest Russian facility producing tanks, leaving JSC KBTM Omsktransmash the transport machine and military factory in Russian city Omsk at the second place.). It was first reported by Jane's Defence Weekly in 1995, and announced by Russian official sources in 2000, but the tank had never been seen or photographed, and no concrete data had been released. It was due to be introduced in 2009, but was perpetually delayed. The Russian government terminated its involvement in the project in May 2010 and withdrew all funding.

Characteristics

Most information about this tank was speculative. The design was presumably a significant departure from the Soviet-era tanks currently in service. In particular, according to Moscow Defense Brief, it was expected to have a new hydropneumatic suspension with adaptive features, and the entire crew was apparently going to be placed in a sealed compartment inside the hull, isolated from other tank components.

Development and deployment

T-95 was a name given to the tank by media; it was not an official name. According to published sources, development of a new tank called "Item 195" began at the Uralvagonzavod design bureau in the early 1990s.

The prototype tank was announced by the Russian Minister of Defense in 2000. On July 10, 2008 the Russian government announced that the Russian armed forces would start receiving new-generation tanks superior to the T-90 main battle tank after 2010. "The T-90 MBT will be the backbone of the armored units until 2025. T-72's and T-80's will not be modernized and will be eventually replaced by new-generation tanks, which will start entering service after 2010," Sergei Mayev, head of the Federal Service for Defense Contracts Rosoboronzakaz told a news conference.

Cancellation

In May 2010, deputy defense minister and chief of armaments Vladimir Popovkin announced that a number of programs for development of new armor and artillery weapons would be cancelled. The main victim is the mysterious Object 195 program that was aimed to develop a new generation main battle tank to replace existing T-80 and T-90 tanks in the Russian Army. The new tank also dubbed T-95 has been developed by Nizhny Tagil Uralvagonzavod armor manufacturer in complete secrecy for more than 15 years. Popovkin said the military will focus on modernization of the T-90 instead.

The reason given for this was the fact that the T-95 was already obsolete, as it had been in development for almost two decades, but some sources speculated it had more to do with the recent reduction in Russia's military budget, requiring substantial cuts across the board.

On the first day of Russian Defence Expo 2010 in Nizhny Tagil, The Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation of the Russian Federation, Konstantin Biryulin, announced to the press that the Russian state monopoly Rosoboronexport was unveiling the prototype of new battle tank called "object 195" (T-95) in a private showing to selected VIP guests, though the tank has yet to be seen by journalists or confirmed publicly by any of the participants.

Should this tank actually be a prototype T-95, it should be noted that that the fate of the T-95 remains uncertain. In April 2010 the first deputy defense minister of Russia Vladimir Popovkin announced that the Defense Ministry has stopped funding the development of T-95 and would have no more involvement in the project. He then confirmed this statement in a June 2010 Interview, stating that Russia would no longer fund and was not going to buy the T-95, but that Uralvagonzavod might continue to work on the tank without government support.

In early July 2010, as reported by "UralInformByuro": the Minister of Industry and Science, Sverdlovsk region, Alexander Petrov said that Uralvagonzavod would soon finalize a T-95 prototype, entirely independently. However without state funding or export permits, the company would be unable to proceed to production.

References

• T-95 Main Battle Tank from DogsWar.ru (Russian)
• RusBusinessNews (16.07.2010) "[1]" Urals Uncases Secret Russian Tank T-95. Accessed 2010-11-18
• Lenta.ru (15.07.2010). "The future of T-95 tank", at Lenta.ru. Accessed 2010-07-15.
• Zvezdanews (15.07.2010). "Uralvagonzavod T-95 tank on Russian Defence Expo 2010", at [2]. Accessed 2010-07-15.
• Federal press (14.07.2010). "Uralvagonzavod T-95 tank on Russian Defence Expo 2010", at [3]. Accessed 2010-07-14.
• Itar-Tass Ural (14.07.2010). "Uralvagonzavod T-95 tank on Russian Defence Expo 2010", at [4]. Accessed 2010-07-14.
• RIA Novosti news agency, (26.03.2010). "[5] Russian tanks: today and tomorow. Accessed 2010-03-26
• Agence France-Presse, (2006-09-10). "Saudi in talks with Russia over weapons sales: Diplomat" AFP report at The Peninsula. Accessed 2008-04-28.
• Federation of American Scientists (1999). "Uralvagonzavod Main Battle Tank", at fas.org. Accessed 2006-10-28.
• Vasiliy Fofanov (2000). "Nizhny Tagil New Main Battle Tank", at Vasiliy Fofanov's Modern Russian Armour Page. Accessed 2006-10-28.
• Jane's Defence Weekly (2000-03-29). "Russia develops new low profile main battle tank", at Janes.com. Accessed 2006-10-28.
• Rossiyskaya Gazeta. "Critique of T-95", at V. Chobitok's ArmourSite. Republished from Rossiyskaya Gazeta 2001-09-07 (Russian language; translation tool). Accessed 2006-10-28.
• "T-95 super tank" at Palba.cz: Czech-language mil-fan discussion and speculative illustrations.
• T-95 Main Battle Tank page with updated information.