US Military Reportedly Uses Ukrainian T-72AG Prototype Tank in War Games

The US military reportedly used a Ukrainian T-72AG tank in its August war games to simulate Soviet T-72 tanks. 

A series of photos, which depicted the Ukrainian tank, were published by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service of the US Department of Defense (DoD), which it said were taken during the multinational Northern Strike 24 exercise between Aug. 3 and 17.

“Military intelligence soldiers assigned to the 203rd Military Intelligence Battalion (Technical Intelligence), Military Intelligence Readiness Command, and a member of the United States Marine Corps, exploit a T-72 tank during a training mission at Camp Grayling, Michigan, Aug. 11, 2024,” reads one of the descriptions.

It’s not immediately clear if the tank was operated by the opposing force (OPFOR), a designated enemy force within the US military tasked with simulating the tactics, techniques and procedures of a real-world adversary.

Social media user TheDeadDistrict has identified the tank as a Ukrainian T-72AG prototype.

Ukrainian news outlet Fokus said that the tank depicted, an upgrade from the Soviet T-72M, lacked certain components compared to “other upgraded models such as the T-72AMG.” It noted the absence of the “radiation detection indicators, OTSHU-1-7 floodlights and turret modulation systems found in some other variants.”

It said the tank, developed by the Kharkiv Morozov Machine-Building Design Bureau (KMDB) and first presented in 1997 at an Abu Dhabi arms exhibition, was initially developed as a cost-effective option for exports but received no international orders.

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It added that the tank was ultimately incorporated into the Ukrainian military and has been in action since 2014 when Russia launched its initial invasion of Ukraine.

It’s unclear how the US military obtained the tank.

It’s known that OPFOR utilizes modified equipment to simulate those operated by US adversaries during training. In December 2022, Militarnyi reported that the US received modified vehicles that visually resembled Russian armored personnel carriers.

However, there were instances in which the US acquired actual equipment manufactured by the USSR from former communist nations, such as the Soviet Mi-24 gunships seen in a November 2019 training which are believed to have come from Bulgaria.

In 2021, National Interest reported that US contractors acquired Soviet MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters – the latter presumably from Ukraine – to help the US Air Force train against potential adversaries.

In February 2022, during the Russian assault on the Hostomel airfield near Kyiv, a T-72AG was reportedly captured by Russian airborne forces, transported to Russia and featured in the so-called Exhibition of Special Military Operation Trophies at Victory Park in Moscow in May 2024.