MOSCOW, December 2. /TASS/. The Uralvagonzavod defense manufacturer (part of the state tech corporation Rostec) has delivered a batch of upgraded T-72B3M tanks to Russian troops, the company’s press office reported on Friday.

"Uralvagonzavod has delivered a batch of T-72B3M tanks to the Defense Ministry of Russia. The upgrade was carried out under the defense procurement plan that stipulates modernizing T-72B tanks to the T-72B3M level. The set of measures to upgrade T-72 tanks has been worked out by engineers-designers of the Ural Design Bureau of Transport Engineering (part of Uralvagonzavod). It involved practically all the systems and helped improve the vehicles’ maneuverability, raise their firepower and the protection level," the press office said in a statement.

The upgraded tank’s new protection considerably enhances its survivability and the efficiency of employing these armored vehicles both in a combined arms battle and in a combat environment with the massive use of anti-tank weapons, it said.

"The upgraded T-72B3 tanks are also outfitted with a new fire control system that features an automatic process of preparations for fire and considerably raises fire accuracy, Uralvagonzavod said.

"The tank is equipped with a 1,000 hp V-92S2 high-power engine based on automatic powerplant and thermal control," it said.

The T-72B3M is an upgraded version of the T-72B3 tank that has received a new sight system with a digital display and a rear view video camera. The tank’s armor has been reinforced with Relikt reactive armor side plates. The tank has also received a new 125mm cannon with the enhanced barrel life, a new R-168-25U-2 Akveduk ultra-short-wave radio station, new fire-fighting equipment and a Sosna-U multi-channel gunner sight.