Soviet main battle tanks in Syrian conflict
As of early 2017, the tank inventory of the Syrian governmental troops comprised several types of main battle tanks (MBTs), including T-55A, T-55AMV, T-62, T-72AV, T-72, T-72B, and T-72M1. The exact number of the vehicles in service is still unknown; however, the Syrian Armed Forces operated some 2,500 MBTs, including 1,200 T-55s, 500 T-62s, no fewer than 700 T-72s, and 800 stored T-54 prior to the conflict. It was therefore T-55 that formed the backbone of the Syrian armor units. At present, the governmental troops intensively use upgraded T-55s, with part of them equipped with explosive reactive armor (ERA) tiles.
T-72 of the Syrian armed forces (Picture source: Facebook) |