Today we have the brief but ‘stranger than fiction’ account of how a Russian T-90A tank named ‘Maestro’ ended up briefly ‘abandoned’ at a gas station in Louisiana several weeks ago, after the truck towing it to a U.S. army testing site “broke down”. The tank was left sitting overnight with no security in the parking lot of Peto’s Travel Center and Casino, on I-10 near Roanoke, Lousiana.
Its name, Maestro, is written on the left side of the turret.
On April 14th, a lone battle-scarred, T-90A “Vladimir” obr. 2004 loaded on a truckbed was spotted at a truckstop on the Interstate 10 (I-10) near Roanoke, Louisiana. Pictures immediately surfaced on Reddit’s /TankPorn/:
This report will pull from the wonderful thread by Twitter user @T_90_M (https://twitter.com/T_90_M/status/1648594266162176001), who is a tank expert that did a deepdive on this happenstance. In fact, the only reason I even chose to cover it rather than simply posting his exhaustive thread is for the sake of having this very strange piece of history saved here for posterity incase the Twitter user gets banned in the future, since it seems Twitter accounts are so capriciously disposable, even under Musk’s tenure.
The tank in question was said to be captured by the AFU’s 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade from the Russian 27th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, under the elite 1st Guards Tank Army, near Kurylovka, Kupyansk region. The tank was said to be captured in October, seen here:
The tank is a T-90A, which is an older variant not to be confused with the modern Russian upgrade known as T-90M. The clearest way to distinguish that is by the Shtora dazzler the ‘A’ version still has. Shtora are the famous ‘glowing eyes’ of the T-90s which were meant to confuse and overload the laser guidance systems of ATGMs, as seen here:
These dazzlers were later deemed obsolete and taken out for the T-90M versions, which still include a ‘Shtora’ suite which detects laser guidance but instead warns the crew, automatically disperses smoke, and also can automatically turn the turret and ‘lock onto’ the target which is ‘painting’ the tank.
@T_90_M here identifies the precise model of the tank:
The T-90A has been in production from 2004 to at least 2010, and four major modifications can be IDed from externally visible differences to the sights and APS’s dazzlers (the famous T-90’s “red eyes of death”): obr. 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2010.
Second hint is the cooling grid, which on obr. 2006 models was altered in order to better dissipate heat. Since these factory modifications are rarely retrofitted to already delivered MBTs, it means that the T-90A in Louisiana is either an obr. 2004 or obr. 2005.
Luckily, T_90_M appears to conclude that the tank is in fact the oldest obr. 2004 version of the T-90A.
The reason this difference is critical is because obr. 2005 introduced a brand new gun:
According to Vasiliy Fofanov the improved 2A46M-5 gun was put into service only in 2005, while the older T-90A obr. 2004 still sports a similar, but less capable 2A46M-2 gun.
And this is important because only the obr. 2005 gun (2A46M-5 variant) can shoot the latest Russian rounds 3BM59 Svinets-1, 3BM60 Svinets-2:
The newer much longer round compared to older 3BM42 Mango.
If captured, these rounds also used by Russia’s latest T-90M would give the US a better understanding on Russian APFSDS actual performances. According to various estimates, Svinets-2 rounds penetrate anything from 600 to 830 mm of steel at 2 km.
However, T_90_m may have missed the fact that this very tank appears to have been video reviewed by this well-known Ukrainian tank expert’s youtube channel, which does reviews on captured tanks. This was posted back in November, shortly after it was captured. You can see the ‘Maestro’ written on the side of the tank.
He explains right in the opening that the barrel is in fact a 2A46M-4, rather than the -2 or -5 models previously discussed, and how to distinguish between them. It’s unclear whether that makes the -4 compatible with the previously described latest ammunition, as I couldn’t find that specific information on it. However, other expert commenters under the video do appear to confirm the tank as an ob. 2004 model of the T-90A.
One writes the following:
Absolutely right. Hull rev.184 (T-72B but rev.1989), turret from rev.187 (he did not go into production). The place of the driver without NVD or TPV and escape through the lower hatch is not realistic. Transporter under the commander’s and gunner’s place. In 1997, I received the first information about him. Interested at first. But as information was received (until 2004), I established that this was essentially a T-72B with a change in components from ob.219-T-80U. The first cast turret T-90s were just the T-72B with K5 and Shtora. Since the 2000s, they went with a turret from ob.187. They are 90A. I finally got acquainted personally with the 90A in August of this year. And all conclusions remained fixed.
So now that we likely know what it is, the question is: where is it headed and what does the U.S. intend to do with it?
A photo from the barrel of the tank taken at the Louisana rest stop shows the tank is being transited to Aberdeen Test Center in Maryland:
Which is a proving ground for the U.S. Army’s armor and vehicles:
Provide test, and test support, services for authorized customers within and outside of DoD, including Government and non-Government organizations, domestic, and foreign.
Perform comprehensive test and training, both real and simulated.
Exploit emerging technologies.
Develop leading-edge instrumentation and test methodologies.
It’s interesting by the way, that the U.S. army could not ship the tank directly to Maryland, but apparently had to ship it to a port Beaumont, Texas:
Its port of destination was Beaumont, Texas, about 90 miles west of where the tank wound up. The “ultimate consignee” on the label is Building 358, 6850 Lanyard Rd., Aberdeen Proving Ground. That’s the home of the U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center (ATC).
Then truck it across the country to Maryland with a Dayton, Ohio based AAA Trucking service. It’s unclear why they did that, but is an insight into American military ‘logistics’ inefficiencies.
As @T_90_M explains:
But even if the US got the older T-90A obr. 2004, they can still learn a couple of things from it: I’m mainly referring to its automated target tracking and laser warning capabilities, as well as testing their weapons against its composite and reactive armor.
I’ve already talked about Shtora’s ability to detect, calculate and then locate the source of a laser beam with quite good accuracy. The US will indeed be very curious to put Shtora APS to scrutiny, if they haven’t done that already.
They will also be able to test the tank’s automated target tracking, which the latest Abrams still lacks: this system has the thermal sight locking on heat signatures – even men’s heat – and automatically laying the gun on them. The gunner only has to fire the gun.
So, as @T_90_M explains, even the oldest T-90A still has an automated tracking system that the latest Abrams does not have, which the U.S. would be enthused to put through its paces.
More from TheDrive:
So while we have some answers about where the tank appears to be headed, many more questions remain unanswered. Whether this vehicle will be used for destructive testing — such as testing weaponry against it — or to familiarize troops with foreign equipment, or some other sort of foreign materiel exploitation (FME) use, we just can’t say at this time.
Some Ukrainian supporters rabidly ridiculed the ‘interior condition’ of the tank:
Until they were politely informed that the tank was captured in September-October and operated under the AFU for nearly 6 months. In fact, the AFU was even said to have made some modifications to it. So on whom does its condition really fall?
Woops.
Apparently it’s such ‘junk’ that the U.S. went out of their way shipping it to their latest proving grounds to study and scrutinize it. With that said it is the absolute oldest, most obsolete copy of the T-90A, which Russia hardly uses anymore and is upgrading all of them to the T-90M standard anyway. The T-90M remains far superior and more advanced. Plus, TheDrive’s article claimed that the tank may have been more stripped than it looks. Not only did they mention that it wasn’t “fully kitted out” and was stripped of its machine guns, but they even said:
It also notably lacks some Western fire control components, which some T-90As have been equipped with in the past.
And in fact, at 2:45 of the youtube video you can even see the confirmation (with autotranslate) that the most advanced thermal sensors were removed.
And if you’re a tank fan, make sure to follow @T_90_M on Twitter for a lot of detailed SMO tank deep-dives.
If you enjoyed the read, I would greatly appreciate if you subscribed to a monthly/yearly pledge to support my work, so that I may continue providing you with detailed, incisive reports like this one.
After years in the making, the National Museum of the United States Army opened its doors on Veterans Day 2020. Located in Ft. Belvoir, Va., off Liberty Drive, the museum spans 185,000 square feet and represents the effort of more than 30 different organizations led by the U.S. Army and the Army Historical Foundation.
The five-story structure sits on 84 acres of ground and contains nearly 1,400 artifacts spread across 11 galleries that tell the story of the U.S. Army from its founding to its position in the modern world. The heart of the museum and where most artifacts are found lie in seven large galleries that span the history of the Army and highlight key roles it played in the development of the United States.
American Rifleman staff had a chance to view the museum during a media event a week prior to the museum opening its doors. Here are five amazing artifacts you can see when you come down to the National Museum of the United States Army:
George Washington’s Newburgh Address
In March 1783, the fledgling United States faced a moment of crisis that almost ended the American experiment before it began. While the nation engaged in peace talks with Great Britain, the soldiers and officers of the Continental Army were reaching a breaking point. They hadn’t been paid in more than a year, and the promise of a lifetime pension for the officers still had no source of funding. An anonymous letter circulated the army camp in Newburgh, NY, which stirred talk of rebellion and a possible military coup against the Continental Congress.
When George Washington heard these rumblings, he knew immediate action was required. What followed on March 15 was one of Washington’s finest hours and a defining moment in the early history of the nation. Washington told his men to be patient, saying that doing so would prove their “unexampled patriotism…rising superior to the pressure of the most complicated sufferings.” After the address, Washington stirred the emotions of his men as he struggled to read a letter from Congress. After faltering, he paused and said, “Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray but almost blind in the service of my country.”
Sgt. Alvin York’s Helmet
In October 1918, then-Corporal Alvin York of the 82nd Division of the U.S. Army joined a group of American soldiers with a mission to take out a machine-gun position in the German lines during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. While wearing the helmet pictured above, York and his men suddenly came under fire from a German machine gun while dealing with a group of captured German soldiers. To deal with this threat, York embarked on a series of incredible actions that would see him awarded the Medal of Honor.
Likely armed with an M1903 Springfield rifle, York lowered himself and began “touching off” the German machine gunners as quickly as he could. Then, six German soldiers with bayonets fixed charged York, who had expended all the rounds in his rifle. York then drew his M1911 pistol and shot each German soldier, from back to front. Ultimately, through his individual actions, York silenced all the machine-gun positions in the area and captured 132 German soldiers. French Marshal Ferdinand Foch remarked that it “was the greatest thing accomplished by any soldier in all the armies of Europe.”
D-Day LCVP
As part of Operation Overlord, the beach landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944, represented one of the largest seaborne invasions in human history. More than 150,000 soldiers supported by nearly 200,000 naval personnel aligned themselves off the northern Channel coast with the aim of cracking Hitler’s Atlantic Wall and establishing a beachhead. The Allied invasion assembled the largest fleet of ships ever gathered.
Nearly 7,000 vessels from eight different navies made up the fleet, and 4,126 landing craft were the largest part of the assemblage, all designed to ferry fighting men from the ships to the five invasion beaches. Of these landing craft, one of the most famous is the “Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel” (LCVP), more popularly known as the “Higgins boat” after its designer, Andrew Higgins. More than 23,000 Higgins boats were produced during the war for use in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. Few survive today, and even fewer are known to have been used in the Normandy landings. The Higgins boat at the National Museum of the U.S. Army is one of six known survivors from D-Day.
Pvt. Martin J. Teahan’s M1 Garand
At 2:15 a.m. on June 6, 1944, the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) of the 82nd Airborne took part in the opening phase of Operation Overlord, jumping behind German lines. The 508th PIR’s objectives were to capture the French town of Sainte-Mère-Église, secure Merderet River crossings and establish defensive positions in preparation for the Normandy landings. Among those who jumped from the skies that morning was 21-year-old Pvt. Martin J. Teahan.
He joined his comrades in the heavy fighting on D-Day, and while scouting near Picauville, France, Pvt. Teahan was shot in the leg, captured and later killed by a German soldier. Several days after the landing, a French farmer found an M1 Garand engraved with the name “M. Teahan” and held onto it for 72 years until its discovery in 2016. Pvt. Teahan is one of 9,388 American soldiers who lie in the Normandy American cemetery near Colleville-sur-Mer, France, but the rifle he fought with has an honored place in the U.S. Army’s National Museum.
The Sherman tank “Cobra King” is shown painted in its wartime finish in a winter display that highlights its role during the Battle of the Bulge.
M4A3E2 Sherman “Cobra King”
During the winter of 1944, Allied armies were making significant progress against the Nazi war machine. The combined forces of the British and Americans on the Western Front of World War II had brought them nearly to the border of Germany itself. Hitler and his command staff had only enough men and materiel to mount one last offensive. Known today as the “Battle of the Bulge,” the German blow pushed through the Ardennes Forest with the aim of splitting the Allied lines. The Germans hoped this would destroy the Allied armies in northwestern France and prevent the use of the Antwerp port, forcing them into a surrender settlement.
While the German advance accomplished none of its aims, the assaulting force managed to surround the 101st Airborne in the Belgian town of Bastogne. With heavy cloud cover preventing any reliable means of air support or resupply, the men of the 101st Airborne held out against the odds during five days of heavy fighting. On Dec. 26, 1944, lead elements of the 37th Tank Battalion of the 4th Armored Division broke through German lines, effectively ending the siege of Bastogne. At the head of the column was “Cobra King,” an M4A3E2 Sherman tank that held the honor of being the first unit through the lines.
These are just five of the nearly 1,400 artifacts visitors can see in the National Museum of the U.S. Army, and there are many more priceless artifacts that tell the story of the nation through the eyes of its soldiers. From the rifles of the American Revolution to an engine recovered from one of the helicopters immortalized in “Blackhawk Down,” there’s something for everyone to see.
Museum entry is free, but timed-entry tickets are required and can be reserved on the museum’s website. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is closed Christmas Day. Parking is free, and the museum is located 25 minutes from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. For more information, visit thenmusa.org.
