GPM 0310 PT-91 TWARDY

The PT-91 Twardy is a Polish main battle tank, the first prototypes of which were made in 1991, and serial production was carried out in two batches: in the years 1994-2002 (for the Polish Army) and in the years 2007-2009 (for Malaysia). The Bumar-Łabędy Mechanical Plant was responsible for the production. The total mass production of the PT-91 is estimated at around 350 units. The tank is armed with a 125mm 2A46 cannon and two machine guns: a 7.62mm PKT and a 12.7mm NSW.

The PT-91 Twardy was developed as a far-reaching modernization of the T-72M1 tank, and the impetus for this work was the successful modernization of the T-55 tanks to the T-55AM level. The OBRUM plants in Gliwice and Bumar-Łabędy were jointly responsible for the research and implementation of the project. The scope of modernization works was very wide. The basic modernization included the replacement of the engine with a completely new one with more power called S-12U with a capacity of 850HP. A new reactive armor developed at the Military Institute of Armament Technology called ERAWA was also introduced, and the bottom of the hull was strengthened to minimize losses caused by the explosion of anti-tank mines. A completely new DRAWA fire control system (FCS) has also been added and completely new observation devices have been introduced. As a result of the modernization, the PT-91 has become a vehicle undoubtedly much more dangerous than the standard versions of the T-72, but it is still clearly inferior to vehicles of the third generation, such as the Leopard II or M1 Abrams. The only foreign user of the PT-91 vehicles is Malaysia, which has purchased about 50 tanks of this type in the PT-91M version.