T-62M Obr. 2005

Savage_Virus_R6 · September 14, 2025, 2:56pm

Would you like to see this T-62 in-game?

Yes as a Tech-Tree Vehicle
Yes as a Premium Vehicle
Yes as a Squadron Vehicle
Yes as an Event Vehicle
No, I do not want to see this T-62 in-game.

0 voters

Introduction

The T-62M Obr. 2005 was a late-stage modernization of the classic Soviet T-62 main battle tank, developed by the Omsk Transport Engineering Design Bureau in the early 2000s. It was intended to drastically extend the service life of the T-62 platform by integrating modern systems and enhancing firepower, armor, and mobility. The tank retained its original layout and 115 mm gun but incorporated a series of upgrades aimed at bringing it closer in capability to more contemporary armored vehicles. Despite being a technically impressive proposal, the T-62M Obr. 2005 remained a prototype and was not adopted for service by Russia or exported.

History

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The T-62 made its debut in the early 1960s as the Soviet Union’s first tank to mount a smoothbore main gun, the 115 mm U-5TS. This marked a shift in Soviet tank doctrine, prioritizing higher muzzle velocity and better armor penetration at range, particularly in anticipation of Western armor developments. The T-62 was not designed as a complete departure from the T-55, but rather as an evolutionary step, offering improved firepower while retaining much of the mechanical layout and simplicity of its predecessor. It featured a newly designed turret and a slightly stretched hull but still lacked some of the more advanced armor and fire control systems that would become common in later generations.

Over time, as threats on the battlefield evolved, especially with the proliferation of shaped-charge munitions and high-velocity kinetic rounds, the T-62’s base protection and targeting capabilities began to fall behind. To address this, Soviet engineers developed a series of upgrades in the 1980s aimed at extending the T-62’s service life. The most prominent among these were the T-62M and T-62MV, both focused on improving survivability, fire control, and overall battlefield performance.

The T-62M introduced composite applique armor on both the hull and turret. This included layered steel and rubber plates added to the turret cheeks and glacis, “Brezhnev’s Eyebrows.” This passive armor upgrade increased resistance to older kinetic and chemical energy threats, with estimated frontal protection reaching 300–350 mm RHAe against APFSDS and 400–450 mm against HEAT, depending on impact angle.

The T-62MV, a separate modernization path, replaced the composite armor modules with Kontakt-1 explosive reactive armor. ERA blocks were installed across the turret, hull front, and sides. While this upgrade greatly improved protection against single-charge HEAT warheads, boosting effective resistance to around 600 mm RHAe in covered areas, it offered virtually no added defense against kinetic rounds like APFSDS. As a result, the MV variant was particularly suited for environments dominated by anti-tank missiles and RPG threats, while the M variant offered slightly better resilience against conventional tank shells.

Both versions benefited from improved fire control systems, notably the integration of the KTD-1 or KTD-2 laser rangefinder mounted above the main gun, and the Volna fire control suite, which provided a significant improvement in engagement accuracy over the earlier optical-only systems. Some T-62M and MV tanks were also equipped to fire the 9K116-1 “Sheksna” laser-guided missile directly from the main gun, giving them a powerful standoff anti-armor capability out to ranges of over 4 kilometers.

To support the added weight from armor and electronics, both upgrades received the V-55U diesel engine, producing 620 horsepower, a modest improvement over the original powerplant. This helped preserve on-road speed and kept the tank’s mobility in line with its original performance, though it still lagged behind newer Soviet designs in off-road agility. Additional upgrades included improved communications, a fire suppression system, and enhanced NBC protection, reflecting the increasing complexity of modern combat environments.

By the early 2000s, in an attempt to radically modernize the platform further, the T-62M Obr. 2005 prototype was developed. While based on the earlier T-62M chassis, this version incorporated several high-end features, including a V-46-5M engine producing 690 hp and a new fire control system with laser-guided missile capability. Most notably, it was the only known T-62 variant fitted with Kontakt-5 ERA, mounted on the turret front in a configuration similar to that used on the T-72B. Unlike Kontakt-1, Kontakt-5 could offer some protection against kinetic penetrators, giving the Obr. 2005 the best turret protection of any T-62 variant. However, its hull retained older armor and Kontakt-1 tiles, meaning its overall survivability was still limited by it. Despite the ambitious upgrades, the T-62M Obr. 2005 remained a prototype and did not enter mass production or service.

Firepower and Fire Control

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Firepower on the T-62M Obr. 2005 remained centered around the 115 mm U-5TS smoothbore gun. The tank was equipped to fire the 1K116-2 “Sheksna” laser-guided missile directly through the gun barrel, extending its effective engagement range and allowing it to target enemy armor with high precision at distances of up to 4,000–5,000 meters. These missiles were capable of defeating advanced armored threats, including tanks equipped with ERA, thanks to their tandem-charge warhead design.

A truly unique upgrade was the addition of a multi-channel 1K13D-22 sight. It was a day optics with passive low-light capability and a laser rangefinder integrated into the same unit. While thermal imaging was not included, the sight system allowed for accurate long-range target tracking and guidance of the Sheksna missile. Combined with the addition of a digital ballistic computer, the T-62M Obr. 2005 achieved far greater first-shot accuracy and quicker target acquisition than any previous T-62 model.

By 2005, the most advanced armor-piercing round developed for the Soviet 115 mm U-5TS smoothbore gun was the 3BM-28 APFSDS. This round represented the final stage in the evolution of kinetic energy ammunition for the T-62’s main gun, incorporating a high-density depleted uranium alloy penetrator to improve performance against armored targets. With a muzzle velocity of around 1,650 m/s and an estimated penetration capability of approximately 350 to 385 mm of rolled homogeneous armor (RHA) at 2,000 meters. While it provided respectable performance against legacy armor or side profiles of more modern vehicles, its effectiveness was increasingly limited against contemporary main battle tanks equipped with composite or reactive armor. Nonetheless, it remained the most capable 115 mm kinetic round available at the time and offered a meaningful upgrade to any platform still using the U-5TS gun.

The tank retained its standard secondary armament, consisting of a 7.62 mm coaxial PKT machine gun, however received a new 12.7 mm NSV heavy machine gun mounted on the loader’s cupola for anti-air and anti-personnel defense.

The upgraded fire control system marked one of the most significant improvements in the Obr. 2005 package. By integrating laser-guided missile capability, improved optics, and modern range finding and ballistic computing, the system brought the T-62’s gunnery performance up to the level of modern main battle tanks. In fact, this was likely the most capable fire control system ever fitted to a T-62 platform, offering a level of accuracy and versatility far beyond what the original design ever intended to achieve.

Protection

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In terms of protection, the T-62M Obr. 2005 saw its most significant upgrades in armor. The turret face was fitted with Kontakt-5 explosive reactive armor, arranged in a similar fashion as on the T-72B (1989). Kontakt-5 is known to provide approximately 200–250 mm of additional protection against kinetic energy penetrators (APFSDS) and up to 600–800 mm against shaped charges, depending on impact conditions. This gave the turret of the T-62M Obr. 2005 considerably improved survivability compared to earlier T-62 variants, especially in frontal engagements. However, the actual surface area covered by Kontakt-5 is relatively limited, noticeably less extensive than the Kontakt-1 layout seen on the T-62MV. This left larger portions of the turret cheeks and especially turret roof exposed, which may have been a trade-off between protection and cost.

The hull received Kontakt-1 ERA applied to the glacis, but again, cost-saving measures appear evident in the design. Only a small section of the hull sides was covered with Kontakt-1, far less than the widespread side coverage seen on the T-62MV. Instead, the vehicle relied on basic rubber side skirts for lateral protection. This suggests that designers may have deliberately reduced ERA coverage in less critical areas to avoid driving up production and export costs. While this approach preserved frontal protection, it left the tank more vulnerable to side attacks, particularly from handheld anti-tank weapons or flanking fire.

The T-62M Obr. 2005 also received T-72B’s smoke grenade launcher system on the turret and featured a new automatic fire suppression system, providing the crew with basic active protection measures. It is likely that spall liners were incorporated into the T-62M Obr. 2005, following the precedent set by the T-55M5 several years earlier, where they were introduced to enhance crew survivability against internal fragmentation. Overall, while not fully comprehensive, the addition of Kontakt-5 on the turret and selective Kontakt-1 on the hull brought the T-62’s armor protection much closer to that of later Soviet-era main battle tanks, albeit with evident compromises to keep the upgrade practical and affordable.

Mobility

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Mobility was significantly enhanced through the integration of a V-46-5M diesel engine, producing 690 horsepower, a considerable improvement over the original T-62’s 580 hp V-55 engine. Despite the added weight from new armor systems, including ~86 Kontakt-1 ERA bricks, 20 larger Kontakt-5 turret modules, and rubber side skirts, the total increase in mass amounted to only around 0.91 tons (my calculations may be wrong). When added to the base T-62’s weight of 36 tons, the vehicle’s combat weight reached approximately 37.9 tons. Thanks to the more powerful engine, the upgraded tank achieved a power-to-weight ratio of roughly 18.2 hp/ton, a notable leap over the original configuration. This translated into improved responsiveness and acceleration. While the basic torsion bar suspension and drivetrain layout remained unchanged, select mechanical components were reportedly adapted from the T-72 series, likely to enhance long-term reliability. Overall, the mobility improvements ensured that the T-62M Obr. 2005 could keep pace with more modern vehicles despite its older chassis.

Conclusion

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Although it never entered mass production, the T-62M Obr. 2005 stands as perhaps the most advanced iteration of the T-62 ever developed by Russia. It brought together an array of meaningful upgrades, most notably the potential ability to use 3BM-28 APFSDS round, with a significantly improved fire control system featuring digital computation and precision optics. With the installation of Kontakt-5 ERA on the turret, it achieved the highest level of frontal turret protection ever seen on a T-62, capable of defeating modern HEAT threats and offering some resistance to kinetic penetrators. These enhancements were complemented by likely internal additions such as spall liners, improved communications, and a new automatic fire suppression system, further raising the platform’s survivability.

Ultimately, the T-62M Obr. 2005 was never adopted, likely because it offered few meaningful advantages over the already widely deployed T-72B, which featured superior armor, firepower, and growth potential. At the same time, older T-62M and T-62MV models remained readily available in large numbers and could be returned to service quickly and cheaply, making them more attractive to export clients and reserve forces. In recent years, T-62s have been used primarily in a fire-support role rather than for direct tank-on-tank engagements, diminishing the tactical value of high-end ammunition, armor upgrades or cutting-edge fire control.

P.S. One could argue that the most recently upgraded T-62M1s, featuring Kontakt-1 ERA mounted over their “Brezhnev Eyebrows”, offer the highest level of frontal protection ever applied to a T-62. Additionally, the inclusion of modern thermal optics, even if they are lower-end units, gives them a distinct fire control advantage over the T-62M Obr. 2005, which lacked thermal imaging entirely. It’s also worth noting that these enhanced upgrades only appeared in very recent years, as a response to contemporary battlefield demands. The only comparable improvement before that was the T-62M Obr. 2021 receiving Kontakt-1-covered side skirts and slat armor, with some improved optics, but this too was part of a separate, more modern modernization effort.

T-62M Obr. 2005 – Full Specifications

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General

Type: Modernized Medium Tank
Origin: Russia (Omsktransmash upgrade)
Base Model: T-62
Year Unveiled: ~2005 (prototype)
Crew: 4 (Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver)
Combat Weight: ~37.9 t (with ERA and skirts)

Dimensions (Estimated, same as base T-62M)

Length (gun forward): ~9.34 m
Hull Length: 6.63 m
Width: 3.30 m
Height: ~2.40 m
Ground Clearance: ~0.43 m

Armament

Main Gun:

Type: 115 mm U-5TS (2A20) smoothbore gun
Ammunition Types: APFSDS, HEAT, HE-Frag, 9M117M “Sheksna” laser-guided ATGM
Guided Missile Capability: Yes (firing through barrel)
Missile Effective Range: Up to 4,000–5,000 m
Rate of Fire: ~6–8 rounds/min

Ammunition Load:

Total rounds carried: ~40 (estimated with ATGMs included)
Missiles carried: ~4–6 Sheksna ATGMs (typical)

Secondary Armament:

Coaxial MG: 7.62 mm PKT
Roof MG: 12.7 mm NSV heavy machine gun
Smoke Dischargers: Yes, 8-barrel system per turret side

Fire Control & Optics

Gunner Sight: 1K13D-22 multi-channel day/low-light optic
Laser Rangefinder: Yes (integrated)
Ballistic Computer: Yes, digital
Missile Guidance: Laser beam-riding
Thermal Imaging: Not installed
Night Vision: Passive, low-light capable optics

Protection

Frontal Turret ERA: Kontakt-5 ERA
- Adds ~200–250 mm vs APFSDS, ~600–800 mm vs HEAT
Frontal Hull ERA: Kontakt-1 ERA
- Adds ~300–400 mm vs HEAT
Side ERA: Kontakt-1 (limited coverage)
Side Skirts: Basic rubber skirts
Base Armor (estimates):
- Hull front: ~100–120 mm steel (before ERA)
- Turret front: ~242 mm cast steel (before ERA)
Spall Liners: Likely included (based on T-55M5 precedent)
NBC Protection: Yes
Fire Suppression: Upgraded automatic fire extinguishing system