T-72 tank

Russia increases number of tanks in Kaliningrad

Russia is steadily growing their tank forces in Kaliningrad. Last summer they formed an armored battalion within the 11th Army Corps, and now that seems to have grown to a regiment sized unit. That reports bmpd.

The 11th Army Corps is structurally a part of the Baltic Fleet. It already had a tank battalion with 40 tanks as part of the 79th Motorized Guards Brigade, but now it also has a separate 11th Tank Regiment. It appears that the new regiment received 30 tanks in 2018 and will receive another 30 this year. So in little more than a year the number of tanks in Kaliningrad has increased from 40 to 100.

T-72 tank
Russia increases the number of T-72 tanks in Kaliningrad. Photo: mil.ru

That is a dramatic buildup. It’s a 150 percent increase of the tank force in the small enclave. This comes in addition to other military projects like the expansion of Chkalovsk air base. However, a hundred tanks in Kaliningrad is nothing extraordinary if we look at it in a historic perspective. The military reforms in 2009-10 reduced the number from a stunning 803 tanks to the 40 tanks in the 79th motorized guards brigade. So while on the one hand this is a dramatic increase in tank capacity in Kaliningrad, there is still some way to the old numbers from just 10 years ago.

The new tanks are of the T-72B type. The official statement about the new tanks for Kaliningrad mentions a list of features including an 840 hp engine. That suggests that the tanks have not been modernized to the newest standards. The present modernization program includes an upgrade to a 1,130 hp engine.

bmpd speculates that the formation of the 11th Independent Tank Regiment is a step towards a new motorized division in Kaliningrad. It will be interesting to watch the future development in that area.

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