Some Ukrainian battalions fighting in Russia’s Kursk Oblast use Polish-made PT91 Twardy tanks. It seems the designers of the deep modernisation of the Soviet T72 could never predict their creation would take part in battles on Russian territory.

It seems the Ukrainians are seeking both to strengthen their presence in the Kursk region in case of a Russian counterattack and to push forward. One of the most interesting hardware they use, next to German Marder trucks are the Polish PT-91 Twardy tanks.

The PT-91 Twardy tank was developed in the 1990s as a modernisation programme for the T-72M1 tank, designed to outperform the Russian T-72B tank upgrades. 

The main idea behind the Polish modernisation was the development of reactive armour, which would cover the and remain low weight. The result of the work was the invention of the ERAWA reactive armour.

Other changes to the PT-91 Twardy tank included the use of a more powerful S-12U engine with 850 hp or a better DRAWA fire control system with a thermal sight or the Obra self-defence system that warns the crew of laser aiming. In such a situation, the system activates smoke grenades to cover the tank’s safe retreat. 

Since the start of the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region, Russia has decided to evacuate parts of Belgorod Oblast, a second border region.

Photo: X/@sjanus_pl

Source: X, WP Tech

Tomasz Modrzejewski