Recently, the British Ministry of Defense released a report saying that Russia has lost about 2,600 main battle tanks in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This data is relatively credible and more accurate than Ukraine's war report. However, it is worth noting that it is not clear whether these destroyed tanks were repaired or not. The report also mentions that the Russian army lost about 40% fewer tanks in 2023 than in 2022. As the war entered a more static phase, the Russian army paid more attention to defense. The increased transparency of the battlefield and the lack of logistical capabilities on both sides make attackers more vulnerable.
As a result, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict turned into positional and trench warfare, reducing the loss of tanks and armored vehicles. In addition, the report also mentions that the monthly production of Russian tanks is 100 units, which is confirmed by Russian data. In 2022, the total production of tanks in Russia exceeded 1,000 units, which in 2023 increased to more than 1,500 units. However, the annual production of the newly built T-90M tanks is only about 200 units, and most of the rest of the tanks are obtained from the tank graveyard through refurbishment and upgrading. All in all, the UK Ministry of Defense's data is relatively credible, showing the number of tanks lost by Russia in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
However, due to the complexity of the battlefield situation and the unclear number of repaired and refurbished tanks, it is not certain whether these 2,600 tanks were the number that was eventually destroyed. Why did the Russian army refurbish old tanks? This is a matter of great concern. The Russian army has been carrying out tank refurbishment work in recent years, in particular, large-scale restoration and improvement of old tanks such as the T-62 and T-55. So why did they choose to refurbish old tanks? First of all, we need to understand the role of tanks in modern warfare. In positional warfare, tanks are mainly used to provide fire support, and not to participate directly in battle.
Therefore, the curved firepower of the tank is crucial. In this case, the difference between five pairs of wheels and six pairs of wheels is not very big. Therefore, the preference to the use of old tanks and the preservation of advanced tanks as a backup allows the preservation of assault capabilities. Secondly, older tanks such as the T-62 and T-55 may be in better condition in tank graveyards than the T-72 and T-80. The T-62 and T-55 were mothballed before the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the process was regular, so the vehicles were in good condition. The T-72 and T-80 were hastily sealed during the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the storage measures were not in place, and valuable parts were also stolen and sold, making it more difficult to repair.
In addition, Russia has adopted a strategy of "down-to-back refurbishment", which has reduced costs and accelerated the pace of refurbishment. During the refurbishment, the fire control equipment may be degraded, but the armor protection is upgraded. This way not only reduces costs, but also improves the performance of the tank. However, over time, the condition of the stock tanks will deteriorate, and the difficulty of refurbishment will increase. Therefore, Russia also needs to increase the production capacity of new tanks to meet future needs. Overall, refurbishing an older tank is a cost-effective approach.
In this way, the Russian army was able to quickly increase its combat effectiveness and effectively use old tanks with limited resources. However, over time, they will also need to think about longer-term solutions to ensure that the military's equipment can keep up with the times.