Moroccan Armed Forces T-72B Tanks Upgraded by Czech Company Excalibur Army

According to pictures released on “The Dead District” Twitter account on December 9, 2022, the Czech company Excalibur Army upgraded the T-72B Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) of the Moroccan army. The Czech company Excalibur Army is a producer of defense products including artillery systems and combat vehicles. The company also specializes in the modernization and upgrading of Russian-made armored vehicles and tanks.

Recently, Excalibur Army received an order to modernize Soviet-made T-72 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) for the Ukrainian army. According to the military balance 2021, Morocco’s armed forces have a total of 656 MBTs including 222 M1A1SA Abrams, 220 M60A1 Patton, 120 M60A3 Patton, 40 T-72B, and 54 Type 90 II (MBT-2000). The tank military inventory of Morocco also includes 200 M48A5 Patton and 60 T-72B which are in store.

The T-72B is an improved version of the T-72A which entered into service with the Russian army in 1986. The turret of the T-72B has a new armor package that provides a much higher degree of protection than any previous model of the T-72 MBT. In addition, the glacis plate is provided with 20 mm of appliques armor.

The main armament of the T-72B consists of one 125 mm 2A46M gun coupled to an automatic loading system with 22 125mm ammunition stored in the carousel automatic loader and 23 stowed in the turret and hull. The main gun can fire a wide range of 125mm ammunition as well as the 9M119 AT-11 ‘Svir’ laser beam-riding anti-tank missile at a maximum firing range of 5,000 m. According to our first analysis, the T-72B of Morocco upgraded by the Czech company Excalibur Army is fitted with a new ERA (Explosive Reactive Armor) package mounted at the front and on the sides of the hull.

The turret of the upgraded T-72B is also fitted with an ERA type of armor package mounted on each side at the front of the turret. The upgraded T-72B keeps the same armament as the original Soviet-made T-72B consisting of one 2A46M 125 mm smoothbore gun. The second armament includes one 7.62mm coaxial machine gun mounted to the right side of the main armament and one 12.7mm heavy machine gun NSV machine can be mounted on the commander’s cupola. A bank of six-smoke grenade dischargers is mounted on each side of the turret.