YEKATERINBURG, December 27. /TASS/. The Uralvagonzavod enterprise (part of the state tech corporation Rostec) has delivered a batch of upgraded T-72B3M tanks to the Russian troops, the company’s press office reported on Monday.

"Uralvagonzavod (part of the state corporation Rostec) has delivered a batch of T-72B3M tanks to the Defense Ministry of Russia. The vehicles have undergone a full set of trials, have been accepted by the customers in compliance with technical specifications and are ready for their operational service in the Russian Army," the press office said in a statement.

The upgrade was carried out under the defense procurement plan that stipulates modernizing T-72B tanks to the T-72B3M level. Compared to the baseline version, the T-72B3M tanks being delivered to the troops feature substantially improved characteristics: they are outfitted with a new fire control system that comprises a sight with a modern thermal imager and also a digital ballistic computer that provides for automatic aiming and considerably enhances fire accuracy, the statement says.

The T-72B3M tank can destroy targets with missiles from the halt and on the move, day and night, at ranges of up to 5,000 meters with fire accuracy close to 100%. The tank’s automatic target tracker increases accuracy of fire against moving targets and substantially cuts the time of preparing for fire. The advanced communications equipment ensures secure jam-resistant radio communications.

The upgraded T-72B3M has received an effective protection system that boosts its efficiency both in combined arms warfare and in a combat environment with the massive use of anti-tank weapons, for example, in urban conditions.

Uralvagonzavod is Russia’s largest heavy machine-building enterprise that engineers and produces various types of railway high- and low-sided freight cars, load transporters and reservoirs.