Currently, there are 241 T-90 tanks serving in the Russian Ground Forces's 5th Guards Tank Division, stationed in the Siberian Military District, and seven T-90 tanks in the Navy.[citation needed] On May 15, 2006, Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Belousov announced that along with other purchases, some thirty new T-90s will be produced for the Russian Army.

The T-90S version is in service with the Indian Army, and the local production of T-90S Bhishma tanks will start in India in 2006–2007?? Bhishma (also spelt as Bishma) is a character from the Indian epic, the Mahabharata. In 2001, India bought 310 T-90S tanks from Russia, of which 120 were delivered complete, 90 in semi-knocked down kits, and 100 in completely-knocked down kits. T-90S were made by Uralvagonzavod and the uprated 1,000-hp engines were delivered by Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant. The T-90 was selected because it is a direct development of the T-72 which India already employs, simplifying training and maintenance. India bought the T-90 after the delay in production of the domestically developed Arjun main battle tank, and to counter Pakistani deployment of the Ukrainian T-80UD in 1995–97.

The deal between India and Russia, estimated at a value of USD $750 million, also included the complete transfer of T-90 technology and weapon systems to India. With Russian and French assistance, India developed an improved version of T-90S, known as the Bhishma. However, India has reported that problems have arisen with the French-designed thermal sights used on the T-90 due to intense desert heat.[4] In 2006, the Indian Government awarded the Ordnance Factory Board a USD $2.5 billion deal to manufacture 1,000 T-90 Bhishma tanks for the Indian army.[5] On October 26, 2006, India signed another deal with Russia for 800 million USD for 330 T-90S tanks.

Armament

The T-90's main armament is the 2A46M 125 mm smoothbore gun. This is a highly modified version of the Sprut anti-tank gun, and is the same gun used as the main armament on the T-80-series tanks. It can be replaced without dismantling the inner turret and is capable of firing armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS), high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT-FS), high explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG), and 9M119M Reflex anti-tank guided missiles. The 9M119M Reflex missile, which has semi-automatic laser beam-riding guidance and a tandem hollow-charge HEAT warhead. The missile has an effective range of 100 m to 6 km, and takes 17.5 seconds to reach maximum range. It can penetrate ~950 mm of steel armour and can also engage low-flying air targets such as helicopters.

The NSVT 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun can be operated from within the tank by the commander and has a range of 2 km and rate of fire of 210 rounds per minute with 300 rounds available. The PKT 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun weighs about 10.5 kg while the ammunition box carries 250 rounds (7000 rounds carried) and weighs an additional 9.5 kg.

Like other modern Russian tanks the 2A46M in the T-90 is fed by an automatic loader which removes the need for a manual loader in the tank and reduces the crew to 3 (commander, gunner and driver). The autoloader can carry 22 ready to fire rounds in its carousel and can load a round in 4-5 seconds. It has been suggested that the automatic loaders on modern T-90 tanks have been modified to take advantage of newer ammunition such as the 3BM-44M APFSDS, which like the US M829A3 penetrates armour better than the previous shorter rounds. Additionally the T-90 features the Ainet fuse setting system which allows the tank to detonate HE-FRAG rounds at a specific distance from the tank as determined by the gunners laser range finder, improving performance against helicopters and infantry.