Principle Author: Alex "Soul Assassin" Vorobiev
The T-90 is a Russian made third-generation main battle tank. It's an upgrade of the T-72B that includes some of the T-80U features.
It's main weapon is a 2A46 smooth-bore gun with 1G46 gunner sights and thermal sights.
The Russian Armed Forces ceased to order the T-90s in 2011 in favor of the future T-14 Armata MBT.
The T-90 series is equipped with the AINET smart fuse system for HE-FRAG rounds. The system enables HE-FRAG projectiles to detonate at a predetermined moment in flight. To use the system the gunner must activate the laser rangefinder (default key T) before loading a HE-F round. The fuse is set in the final stages of the loading process by the auto-loader. Once loaded the round is set to detonate in flight at the predetermined range. By detonating above ground the effective radius of the explosion is more than doubled.
The T-90 series is equipped with the distinctive Shtora-1 Electro-Optical Countermeasure Defensive Aids Suite. The system detects and protects against beam guided anti-tank weapons systems such as the TOW ATGM.
The system consists of two electro-optical dazzlers located on each side of the main gun, four rough laser sensors on the sides of the turret and two precision laser sensors mounted on the front of the turret.
When a laser beam is detected the system will inform the crew with a warning sound; it then turns the turret to face the source of the beam, after which it fires a volley of 3D17 smoke grenades and activates the dazzlers. If the system is in semi-automatic mode the system operates passively and the commander must press the handbrake key (by default X) before the system takes action.
Although designed to jam beam guided weapons the electro-optical dazzlers are ineffective against current generation SACLOS guidance system which use encoded signals and other methods to defeat jamming. The Shtora system still remains a vital asset as it is able to detect the lasers from both vehicle rangefinders and SACLOS guidance emitters. For this reason current and future versions of the system, as seen on the T-90MS, lack the electro-optical dazzlers.
In game the Shtora-1 can detect the lasers from vehicle rangefinders and SACLOS guided missiles. The system can be controlled from the commander's seat through the action menu. If the turret takes sufficient damage the system may cease to function.