T-72 is a Soviet main battle tank (MBT) being one of the most produced modern tanks with over 25,000 units built.

T-72 still is widely use being exported in 40 countries and has been involved in numerous conflicts over time.

T-72 production started in 1972 and seven years later, in 1979, the T-72 a variant, considered a second-generation main battle tank was introduced.

T-72 was produced by several countries in several variants.

The Russian T-72B3 variant introduced in service with the Russian Army in 2010 is considered to be a third-generation main battle tank.

T-72 MBT was designed between 1967 and 1973 by Leonid Kartsev-Valeri Venediktov.

Being produced in the Soviet Union since 1972, the T-72 main battle tank and its derivates are still manufactured and constantly upgraded today in various countries.

Russian made T-72 price per unit between 1994 and 1996 was US$0.5–1.2 million and the cost per unit in 2009 was 30,962,000–61,924,000 rubles (US$1–2 million).

The mass of the T-72 depends on the variant. The T-72A has a weight of 41.5 tonnes (45.7 short tons), while the T-72B is slightly heavier weighing 44.5 tonnes (49.1 short tons).

The length of the T-72 hull is 6.95 m (22 ft 10 in), and the overall length with the gun forward reaches 9.53 m (31 ft 3 in).

T-72 has a width of 3.59 m (11 ft 9 in), a height of 2.23 m (7 ft 4 in), and a ground clearance of 0.49 m (19 in).

The crew consists of 3 persons: the commander, the gunner, and the driver.

The T-72 has steel and composite armor with ERA modules and uses a 125 mm 2A46M/2A46M-5 smoothbore gun.

As secondary armament, T-72 is fitted with a 12.7 mm NSVT or DShK anti-aircraft heavy machine gun and a 7.62 mm PKT coaxial machine gun.

The T-72B3 and T-72B3M latest Russian variants are powered by a 1,130 hp (840 kW) V-92S2F V-12 diesel engine.

The engine is coupled to a Synchromesh hydraulically assisted transmission with eight gears (7 forward and 1 reverse)

The power-to-weight ratio is 18.8 hp/tonne (14 kW/tonne).

T-72 has a torsion bar suspension and with a fuel capacity of 1,200 L (320 U.S. gal; 260 imp gal), has an operational range of 460 km (290 mi).

With external fuel drums, the operational range increases to 700 km (430 mi).

On paved roads, T-72 MBT can reach a maximum speed of 60 km/h (37 mph).