Photos Of The Newly Acquired T-72 Tanks Used By The Nigerian Army Against Boko Haram

Nigeria welcomes three T-72 M1 main battle tanks (MBT), to fight Boko
Haram, IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly reports. Additionally, the source
informed of other types of armoured vehicles (BMPs) and anti-tank
complexes being shipped to Nigeria via air transport.
The total
price of the delivery was estimated at USD8m (N1,536,400,000). Excalibur
Group company (Czech Republic), that specialises in refurbishing
military equipment, was one of the contractors.
A total of 16
vehicles have been transported via Antonov An-225 (Mriya) aircraft from
Ostrava-Mosnov airport to the end user’s location since January 26,
2015.
It would be noted that the recent success of the Nigerian
Army may be attributed to use of heavy tanks for military operations in
‎Michika‬ and ‪‎Madagali‬.
Boko Haram insurgents, who use ZU-23-2
anti-aircraft guns mounted on their vehicles, cannot penetrate the
explosive reactive (ERA) armour of a T-72.
The terrorists have RPG-7
anti-tank hand-held grenade launchers that are able to damage the MBT.
However, RPG’s firing range is 500m, while the T-72 can demolish any
target from the range of 3-5km.
Facts about T-72 MBT:
– over 25,000 built since 1973;
– exported in over 40 countries worldwide;
– price USD1…2m. May increase drastically depending on modification;
– first ever world championship for militaries operating T-72 took place in Russia in August 2014.