larry johnson delivers some bad news for the 'we're number one' crowd;

Let’s just deal with basic numbers in comparing Russia and NATO, and let’s start with tanks. Who is building, from the ground up, more modern battle tanks? In calculating this I am excluding deliveries of refurbished or upgraded vehicles (e.g., M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams, Leopard 2A7V) and I am focusing solely on fresh builds.

NATO’s production of entirely new main battle tanks (MBTs)—built from the ground up, not refurbished or upgraded existing hulls—was extremely limited in 2024, reflecting peacetime priorities, high costs (~€10–15 million per unit), and a focus on modernization programs amid the Ukraine conflict. No NATO member produced significant volumes of new tanks; instead, emphasis was on exports, prototypes, and future contracts. Based on 2024 data, the total new production across all NATO countries was approximately 56 tanks, and these came from South Korea (a NATO partner via the IP4 alliance) for Poland.

Russia, not surprisingly to me, built more brand new battle tanks in 2024 than all of NATO. Independent OSINT (e.g., Conflict Intelligence Team/CIT) and Western intelligence (e.g., RUSI, IISS) peg it at 60–80 units, contrasting higher figures (250–300) that include modernizations. Modern MBTs refer primarily to the T-90M “Proryv” (Russia’s most advanced operational variant, with upgraded fire control, Relikt ERA, and Sosna-U sights) and negligible T-14 Armata output (prototypes only, serial production canceled). Uralvagonzavod (UVZ) is the sole new-build facility..........more...........