TR-125 (Tanc Romanesc Model 125)

History

The Cold War-era T-72 Main Battle Tank (MBT) proved to be an export of the Soviet Empire in the 1970s and 1980s. Over 25,000 such examples have been produced by many global operators. Its influence made it inevitable that design would be improved in various ways, and several national forces were involved in local projects to achieve this. For Romania, a long-time Soviet military ally, the implementation of the "TR-125" ("Tanc Romanesc 125") project was aimed at creating a more "Romania-centric" combat system.

However, the project stalled after the testing phase as the Romanian army did not purchase the product. It is believed that three to five pilot vehicles were built.

The TR-125 came about because the Soviet authorities did not allow the local production of the T-72M in Romania, although Romania was obliged to do so (the USSR bought 30 in 1978 and delivered the following year). This led to a move to build Soviet products from scratch, and a Romanian engineer started work in the mid-1980s.

Many parts of the tank were copied by local means and companies, hence the name "TR-125". The "125" in the name indicates that the tank's main gun has a caliber of 125 mm and uses an A555 smoothbore barrel.

Mounted with this weapon is a 7.62mm PKMT coaxial machine gun and a 12.7mm DShK anti-aircraft (AA) machine gun mounted on the commander's cupola (both are standard equipment on modern MBTs ). The vehicle is powered by a 900hp 8VSA3 diesel engine and the undercarriage includes seven twin tire wheels on one side of the fuselage (the original T-72 had six wheels). The upper part of the track is covered with side skirt armor for added protection. As with the T-72, the crew is still three (commander, driver, gunner), while an autoloader feeds the main gun system.

The chassis is slightly longer than the original T-72, suspended on a torsion bar system that provides excellent off-road capability.

Pilot vehicles were built in the late 1980s and testing continued into the early 1990s. The tank was heavier, longer, and more powerful than the original T-72, weighing about 55 tons (short). The hull is 7.9 meters long, 3.6 meters wide and 2.2 meters high.

Overall, the TR-125 mimics the T-72 in both form and function.

Although the Romanian Army did not proceed with the TR-125 design, the "TR-2000" program was born in the second half of the 1990s. The project also failed, ending in cancellation.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

42 x 125mm bullet.

350x12.7mm ammo.

2,300x7.62mm ammo.

8 x Smoke Grenade.

Changes