Bhishma TWMP

Bhishma TWMP

Bhishma TWMP

Britain

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
10.7	10.7	10.7

Class:

SQUADRON

Medium tank

Research:520 000

Purchase:760 000

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Description

The T-90S Bhishma TWMP (भीष्म, a character in Indian epic Mahabharata; Object 188S) is an exported T-90 built in Russia and also license-produced in India by the Heavy Vehicles Factory. India purchased 310 T-90S in 2001 as complete assembled or knock-down kits as part of their military modernization program, and a further 330 tanks would be produced locally by the HVF as well since 2006. Most of the features of a standard T-90A (Object 188A1) are identical on the T-90S, as the Russian Army later adopted the latter as the new MBT in 2005. In this case, a domestically developed mine plough by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is installed on the tank as an alternative to Russian mine ploughs.

Introduced in Update "Sons of Attila" as a squadron vehicle, the T-90S is in fact the tank that set the foundation of the T-90A in Russian service. Not only do they share similar protection and identical mobility, it also has a mine plough for ground digging which can sometimes serve as extra protection against oncoming shells. Due to export limits, the ammunition options are fewer than the T-90A and limited to 3BM42 as its only kinetic shell against tanks of its tier. However, in most cases, the mix of ATGM, HE-FS, and APFSDS are more than enough to handle different targets in different scenarios.

General info

Survivability and armour

ERA

Effective action against the cumulative ammunition

Composite armour

Balanced protection against all types of ammunition

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

ESS

Creation of a smoke screen in the direction of movement of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull105 / 80 / 50

Turret180 / 160 / 65

Crew3 people

Visibility75 %

The overall design of the T-90S is very similar, if not totally identical, to the T-90A in Russian service. A very iconic feature of the T-90 series are their Shtora-1 soft-kill APS (IR jammer) located on the front of turret next to the gun; due to the lack of requirement for such equipment in India, the applique armour blocks have been extended from the turret front all the way to the mantlet. Kontakt-5 is the standard-issue ERA for Russian-built tanks and is present on the T-90S as well, making it rather durable for its tier thanks to its kinetic protection alongside its base composite armour. Another iconic feature for the Indian T-90S is the domestic mine plough on the LFP; while the LFP is a well-known weak spot for MBTs, the sheer size of this mine plough can sometimes serve as slight additional protection against enemy shells as it can interrupt the trajectory. Most of the weak spots are identical to T-90A as well, namely the driver's optics and gun mantlet, while can be penetrated by most kinetic shells at its tier and cause fatal damage to the crew/components inside.

The T-90S also shares identical crew and compartment layout to the T-90A or T-72 series as well. The "tri tankista" (three tankers) configuration can be said to be a dual-edged sword - while the replacement of the loader to an autoloader can ensure constant reload rate, this also means a penetrated shot from sides or mantlet can very likely knock-out the turret crew and resulting a tank knock-out. The AZ-184 autoloader can sometimes become a rocket-for-two if detonated which is very likely when being hit directly, the tank will either cook-off or disintegrate from existence completely, the only thing left is the turret that blown off up to hundreds of meters away.

Armour type:

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	___ mm	___ mm Top ___ mm Bottom	___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Turret	___ - ___ mm Turret front ___ mm Gun mantlet	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Cupola	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm

Notes:

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB67 / 5 km/h

RB and SB60 / 5 km/h

Number of gears7 forward

1 back

Weight46.5 t

Engine power

AB1 908 hp

RB and SB1 000 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB41.0 hp/t

RB and SB21.5 hp/t

Thanks to the new V-92S2 engine at 1,000 hp output, the T-90S has better power-to-weight ratio at 21.5 for its weight; while this is a major improvement compared to most British tanks, players will still have to be aware of the long-lasting transmission design on Russian tanks: the infamous 7F1R configuration planetary transmission with very high 1st gear ratio (14.35 in both directions), which means over-extending to the frontline can be fatal when the tank can't retreat to cover in time due to the -4.2 km/h reverse speed.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	67	5	46.5	1,550	1,908	33.33	41.03
Realistic	60	5		884	1,000	19.01	21.51

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB4 010 → 6 656

RB3 884 → 6 447

SB4 534 → 7 526

Total cost of modifications209 000

349 000

Talisman cost2 800

Crew training200 000

Experts710 000

Aces2 100

Research Aces1 080 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

150 / 190 / 240 %

232 / 232 / 232 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 9 100 Cost: 14 000 300 Suspension Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 430 Brake System Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 430 Filters Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 360 Transmission Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 400 Engine Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 400	Improved Parts Research: 2 700 Cost: 14 000 300 Self-digging blade Research: 9 100 Cost: 14 000 300 Improved FPE Research: 3 900 Cost: 20 000 430 Crew Replenishment Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 360 Smoke grenade Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 360 ESS Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 400 NVD Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 400	Horizontal Drive Research: 9 100 Cost: 14 000 300 125mm_ussr_APDS_FS_ammo_pack Research: 9 100 Cost: 14 000 300 Adjustment of Fire Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 430 Elevation Mechanism Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 360 125mm_ussr_ATGM_ammo_pack Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 360 Artillery Support Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 400 Laser rangefinder Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 400

Armaments

Laser rangefinder

Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder

Night vision device

Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.

Thermal imager

Allows to see thermal radiation in the infrared range day and night

Main armament

125 mm 2A46M cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Autoloader

Automatically feeds projectiles into the breech. The speed does not depend on the skills of the loader

Ammunition43 rounds

First-order22 rounds

Reload7.1 s

Vertical guidance-4° / 14°

Although 125 mm could sound fearsome, due to export limits on depleted-uranium ammunitions, the best kinetic shell for T-90S is 3BM42 for the time being; although it is still sufficient to defeat earlier NATO tanks, when facing more advanced MBTs, players might want to seek for the tandem ATGM to defeat such targets. Sometimes the HE-FS (Time-fused) can blow jets or rotorcrafts into piece with ease when landed near them, do be careful for the time fuse itself since the programmed fuse will detonate before hitting ground target.

125 mm 2A46M					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Autoloader
Arcade	43	-4°/+14°	±180°	Two-plane	22.8	31.6	38.4	42.5	45.2	7.10
Realistic					14.3	16.8	20.4	22.6	24.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
3BK18M	HEATFS	550	550	550	550	550	550
3OF26 EDKV	HE-TF	42	42	42	42	42	42
3BM42	APFSDS	457	454	445	431	419	406
9M119M1	ATGM (tandem)	850	850	850	850	850	850

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
3BK18M	HEATFS	905	19	0.05	0.1	2.79	65°	72°	77°
3OF26 EDKV	HE-TF	850	23	0.3	0.1	5.24	79°	80°	81°
3BM42	APFSDS	1,700	4.85	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°

Missile details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Range (m)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
								0%	50%	100%
9M119M1	ATGM (tandem)	445	5,000	17.2	0.4	0.01	5.72	80°	82°	90°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
43	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Machine guns

12.7 mm 6P49 machine gun

Ammunition300 rounds

Belt capacity150 rounds

Reload5.0 s

Fire rate700 shots/min

Vertical guidance-3° / 66°

Horizontal guidance-40° / 55°

7.62 mm PKTM machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition2 000 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reload8.0 s

Fire rate700 shots/min

12.7 mm 6P49
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	300 (150)	700	-3°/+66°	-40°/+55°

7.62 mm PKTM
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	2,000 (250)	700	-	-

Usage in battles

To describe T-90S, for the tanks of lower rank, it is like an Indian Elephant which charges into the masses of enemy infantry; for the users of T-90S, they can still take it by its name - Bhishma, a warrior in epic. If players can adopt Soviet tactics while playing British tech-tree in this case (but most of all, be cautious), they can achieve respectable results against enemies.

One thing players will have to understand is - this is a Russian design. Unlike NATO designs, Russian tanks usually opted for lower profile and "sufficient" ergonomics for the crew. Players will soon notice the very familiar crew and component layout of Russian tanks: the "tri tankista" (three tankers) and a carousel AZ-184 autoloader with 22 shells in it, this will be where it departs from NATO design. Most NATO tanks have more spacious interior to migrate shrapnel damages to the crew, but in T-90S case, if the tank is penetrated from the front by any means, chances are the crew would see their kingdom come due to the rather cramped interior layout. If enemies take the flank and hit the tank, there might be minimal chance of either of the turret crew survived the hit. In the worst case possible, if the shot lands exactly on the autoloader, the last thing players can see is the turret flies at least tens of meters away from where the hull once was - which is known as a complete-kill with jack-in-the-box detonation. Be sure to never, ever give enemies any chance to aim for the weak spots when facing them up front. Another flaw to T-90S is parts of its firepower - not only it inherited the relatively inferior 7.1 second fixed reload time and rather slow turret traverse speed, due to arms control treaties, it also limited the kinetic shell options of T-90S to only 3BM42 Mango which is insufficient at higher ranks when facing "fellow" Russian tanks or PLAGF tanks, this could be a challenge for players who don't have sufficient reaction to aim for any advantageous weak spot to disable enemies.

But there are still some good news for T-90S: first, the overall protection can be said as overkill at its current BR thanks to the Kontakt-5 ERA packages with sufficient high composite armour behind to stop lower-rank shells; next, it does have a 2nd generation TVD for target acquisition (some tanks at its rank still uses 1st generation with lower resolution), after all, who find and shot the target first likely wins the fight; thirdly, its flawed but sufficient mobility to navigate around the battlefield. The problems mentioned on the previous paragraph can be mostly migrated by careful planning and good situational awareness against enemies. The overall mobility of T-90S does make actively assaulting enemies a good idea, the front protection also ensures most shots landed on UFP or turret will prove fruitless to stop T-90S from advancing, hit the enemies first if possible. Although the inferior APFSDS can be a problem if facing more-protected MBTs, thanks to the tandem ATGM onboard, it can still achieve victories even when moving albeit it takes considerably more time to hit targets than kinetic shells; as long as players can disable enemy targets at once, the clean-up would be a piece of cake (1 on 1). Dealing with ground is one matter, but handling rotorcrafts or fixed-wings is another story; while having HE-FS (time fused) is a major improvement from most NATO tanks or Warsaw-Pact tanks, players will have pick the most careless target as the time fused shell has lesser flexibility than PLAGF's DTB12-125 with VT fuse; those which hover at the same location will be a good pick. Be sure not to rangefind ground targets with HE-FS as this will also program the fuse to detonate before it lands on the target.

Overall, T-90S offers a departure from NATO playstyle while maintaining the firepower and protection of Russian tanks; but being more careful on T-90S is always a good option to extend its service life as long as possible - it is not as forgivable as its NATO counterparts afterall.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Better power-to-weight ratio than British MBTs thanks to the weight
• Access to 2nd generation TVD channel
• Rather well protected up front with some side applique armour
• CONTACT-5 ERA provides excellent frontal and turret protection
• Extended turret applique armour than T-90A that offers more protection
• Sufficient firepower to take out ground and aerial targets with respective ammunitions i.e. APFSDS, ATGM or HE-FS (Time-fused)
• Lower profile than Challenger series

Cons:

• Less than ideal mobility
  • Abysmal and infamous reverse speed at -4.2 km/h, extremely fatal during a retreat
  • Lesser engine power than NATO/post-1999 PLAGF MBTs
• Inferior ergonomics for the tank crews
  • Cramped interior space and high likelihood for a crew knock-out when penetrated
  • Infamous AZ-184 autoloader that is prone to detonation once being hit directly
• Lacks Shtora-1 soft-kill APS for jamming missiles
• Shares identical weak spots to T-72/90 series i.e. driver visor, LFP, mantlet
• Shares identical, insufficient gun laying speed to T-72B/T-90 series especially at vertical traverse
• Lacks more advanced APFSDS due to export limits

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Bhishma TWMP from live.warthunder.com.

Images

• 

See also

Related development

• T-72 (Family)

External links

• [Devblog] Squadron vehicles: T-90 Bhishma

Squadron ground vehicles
USA	M901 · M1A1 AIM
Germany	Leopard 2 PL
USSR	BMP-2M · T-80UK
Britain	Bhishma TWMP
Japan	RCV (P)
China	Object 122MT "MC"
France	CV 9035NL
Sweden	T 80 U
Israel	Magach 6B Gal