The T-72 ''Adra'' () or 'Mahmia' is a Syrian

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

. It is a domestic upgrade to the T-72M1 that features

slat armor Slat armor (or slat armour in British English), also known as bar armor, cage armor, and standoff armor, is a type of vehicle armor designed to protect against high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) attacks, as used by anti-tank guided missiles (ATG ...

spaced armor Armour with two or more plates spaced a distance apart falls under the category of spaced armour. Spaced armour can be sloped or unsloped. When sloped, it reduces the penetrating power of bullets and solid shot, as after penetrating each plate ...

, and chains to provide 360 degree protection from RPGs.

Background

In the late ‘70s through the early ‘90s Syria imported a number of T-72M1 tanks from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, as well as

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. These tanks were used in the

1982 Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, also called the Second Israeli invasion of Lebanon, began on 6 June 1982, when Israel invaded southern Lebanon. The invasion followed a series of attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization ...

, with moderate effectiveness, after which it was called by

Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad (6 October 193010 June 2000) was a Syrian politician and military officer who was the president of Syria from 1971 until Death and state funeral of Hafez al-Assad, his death in 2000. He was previously the Prime Minister of Syria ...

, “The Best Tank in the World”. The Syrian Civil War took its toll on Syria's T-72 fleet, with many tanks being lost in intense urban combat. To try to reduce these losses, while under an arms embargo, Syria developed the 'Adra' upgrade for their T-72 tanks in the town of Adra.

Design

The ''Adra'' consists of

around the turret and at the front of the hull, with the spaced armour and chassis being covered in a layer of

. The turret ring is also protected by steel chains which hang from the turret and are weighed down with steel balls, in the hope that they will offer similar performance to slat armor, but with more flexibility, however these are rarely effective and usually do not detonate the projectile. Later versions are protected with Sarab Active Protection System against ATGMs.

Operational history

The T-72 ''Adra'' was first deployed in Jobar in 2014, where two were confirmed to have been destroyed. As of November 2017 at least 11 T-72's have been converted to this variant. But it went on to be deployed in Eastern Ghouta, and possibly

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

. However, by 2016, it was in wide use in Jobar, Qaboun, and Eastern Ghouta, and very limited use in Aleppo. The T-72 Adra is often used in urban areas where regular T-72's would be vulnerable. It eventually proved to be vulnerable to rebel M79 Osa and

RPG-29 The RPG-29 "Vampir" is a Soviet Union, Soviet Reuse, reusable rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher. Adopted by the Soviet Army in 1989, it was the last RPG to be adopted by the Soviet Armed Forces, Soviet military before the Dissolution of the ...

anti-tank launchers and was later deployed in Daraa, though they have on 2 occasion stopped RPG-29's and usually stop early model ATGM's and RPG-7's in 2017, to stop the rebel offensive in Al-Manshiyah by the 4th Armoured Division of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). 4th Division convoy towards Daraa included at least 4 tanks, 2 BMPs and 1 BREM-1 (+ several IRAM launchers).

Operators

Current operators

* –

Syrian Armed Forces The Syrian Armed Forces () are the military forces of Syria. Up until the fall of Bashar al-Assad's Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, Ba'ath Party Ba'athist Syria, regime in December 2024, the Syrian Arab Armed Forces were the sta ...

References

External links

Unpainted

Desert Camo 1

Desert Camo 2

In combat

In combat
{{DEFAULTSORT:T-72 Adra Main battle tanks of Syria Post–Cold War main battle tanks T-72