The $3 million modernised Russian T-72B3 tank of the 2022 model uses a Sosna-U thermal imaging sight with a matrix from French company Thales

The Ukrainian media have documented another fact of the use of Western components in Russian military equipment. This time, a matrix from the French company Thales was found in the T-72B3 tank.

Here's What We Know

The Ukrainian Defence Forces recently seized one of the newest Russian T-72B3 tanks of the 2022 model. The $3 million combat vehicle was created as a budget version of the T-90 "Breakthrough", which can cost $4.5 million to build.

As it turned out, the T-72B3 of the 2022 model is equipped with the Sosna-U thermal imaging sight. It is based on a matrix manufactured by the French company Thales. Journalists found that Russia obtained it through Belarus, bypassing Western sanctions.

"Sosna-U" is a multi-channel thermal imaging gunner's sighting device. The device was primarily designed to be installed in Russian T-72 and T-90 tanks.

The sight allows to detect enemy combat vehicles at night within a radius of 5 kilometres. According to analysts, due to problems with the supply of Western components, primitive 1PN-96MT-02 sights with a range of 2-3 kilometres are now more and more common in Russian tanks.