Vietnamese T-90 tanks officially get "Red Eyes" (referring to the red eyes on the tank).

In June of this year, the Russian television channel Nizhny Tagil broadcast a documentary about a "young tank engineer," about a boy with very novel ideas for the design of future tanks, prompting the director of the UralVagonZavod plant to arrange a field trip for this young "engineer."

However, the most noteworthy detail in the video is the T-90 main battle tanks being assembled; they are painted green and have a configuration quite different from the base batch of T-90S/SK tanks that were built for the Iraqi Army.

Currently, UralVagonZavod has contracts to produce the T-90S/SK version of the tank for two customers, Iraq and Vietnam, so it is almost 100% certain that these are our T-90s.

Based on published information, the Vietnamese T-90S tank has a fundamental difference compared to the product manufactured for Iraq: the front of its turret still has the mounting bracket for the famous "Red Eyes - OTSh-U-1-7 Jamming Light" belonging to the Shtora-1 active defense system.

Thus, it can be seen that the configuration of Vietnam's T-90S/SK main battle tanks has better anti-tank missile defense capabilities than Iraq's T-90s. The OTShU-1-7 jamming light will effectively disrupt the guidance systems of second-generation and lower-generation ATGM missiles, causing the projectiles to fly into the air or miss their target.

Nevertheless, there was still some doubt as to whether that mounting bracket was actually for the OTShU-1-7 jamming device or if it was intended to support an explosive reactive armor plate or some other piece of equipment; only when the vehicle was completed could one be truly reassured.

And yesterday, images of a completed T-90 tank with red eyes on the front of the turret appeared on Russian military websites. It bears the factory designation V-31, further confirming that this is indeed the T-90 for Vietnam (T-90 tanks for Iraq are marked with the designation "I").

Thanks to the OTShU-1-7 jamming light, Vietnam's T-90S/SK tanks are equipped with the complete Shtora-1 "soft" defense system, including sensors, smoke grenades for camouflage, and jamming lights, providing great peace of mind for the crew during combat.

However, one thing remains to be seen: it is unclear whether Vietnam's T-90 tanks will be equipped with the new generation Relikt third-generation explosive reactive armor – the same type that Russia uses on its most advanced T-90M Proryv-3 version – or whether they will remain similar to the T-90A, which only features skirt armor made from rubber sheets to protect the tracks.