The world’s second-largest tank fleet belongs to North Korea, with a combat fleet of 6,645 tanks. The conflict has also injured or killed thousands of civilians, displaced millions, and upended the post-Cold War security architecture. 1,890).Īccording to a Pentagon official speaking in early November 2022, Russia has lost half of their tanks since their “special military operation” began on February 24, 2022. That’s why, on top of poor morale, inadequate logistics, and inflexible tactics, Russia has struggled to perform on the Ukrainian battlefield despite having more than six times the number of tanks (12,556 vs. On top of that, only one-quarter of those are considered modern tanks-T-72B3/B3M, T-80-BVM, and T-90A/M-that is, fitted with up-to-date fire control systems and sighting. A 2021 Russian source estimated that their operational main battle fleet was closer to 2,600 tanks, made up of T-72s, T-80s, and T-90s, with another 400 T-72 variants used as range tanks. Of Russia’s nearly 13,000 active combat tanks, only a fraction are main battle tanks. (5,500).īut the headline number misses nuances in the composition of the Russian tank fleet. This is more than the combined total of the number two and three spots, North Korea (6,645) and the U.S. Numbering 12,556 tanks, the Russian Federation has the largest fleet in their arsenal by far, from the workhorse T-72 series to the ultra-advanced T-14 Armata. The numbers do not include armored personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles. M1A2 Abrams or the German Leopard 2, but also more lightly-armed medium and light tanks, like Thailand’s Stingray. The ranking includes main battle tanks, like the U.S. Global Firepower has released their ranking of combat tank fleet sizes for 2023, which we’ve visualized in this infographic. Since then, despite some commentators predicting the end of the tank era, they remain a cornerstone of 21st century armies. The tank, an armored all-terrain fighting vehicle, revolutionized the way we fight when introduced during the First World War. “We all have finite stocks, which is why we will use the cash in the fund to start commissioning, which we have already done,” he said.Visualizing the World’s Top 25 Fleets of Combat Tanks It also alleged that Western nations are mainly concerned about how to convince their taxpayers that the donations to Kyiv make sense at all.Įarlier this year, it was reported that a British lawmaker criticized the government’s decision to send Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine due to fears that it would reduce its operational capability by nearly a third.īut in a recent parliament meeting, Wallace clarified that the UK had already started restocking “a few months ago” and that funding has been allocated already. The Russian ministry claimed that the UK’s own defense secretary Ben Wallace had said his country’s weapons stockpile is facing total depletion. “The logic and goals of Admiral Radakin’s propagandist statements made in the British parliament are obvious: to wrestle money from the stagnant budget to procure new weapons for the army and replace the junk being shipped to Ukraine.” Alleged Depleting Stockpile “British Admiral Radakin’s assessments about the armored vehicles lost by Russia, combined with claims that the Russian Armed Forces has lost ‘half of its combat capability’ are discouraging due to the sheer scale of the lies…” Moscow’s defense ministry stated. They are also reportedly an indication that the British Army is now desperate to replace the “obsolete” equipment it shipped to Ukraine. The statement comes after Britain’s Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said Moscow had lost nearly half of its combat effectiveness in Kyiv since the February 2022 invasion.Īccording to the Russian defense ministry, the British military official’s staggering words were just a diversionary tactic aimed at securing funding for modern weapons. The Russian Ministry of Defense has claimed that the weapons and equipment sent by the UK to Kyiv are merely “junks” and not important to the British military anymore.
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