Why the T-72 Remains Russia’s Primary Main Battle Tank Russian tank enthusiasts are quick to point out that the Soviet Union did not export to Iraq its more advanced 125-millimeter armor-piercing sabot shells. Here’s What You Need to Remember: The Soviet Union’s huge tank fleet was a cornerstone of its power during the Cold War. However, events in the 1991 Gulf War called its superiority into question. On February 26, 1991, a cavalry troop of nine M1 Abrams tanks and twelve Bradley fighting vehicles bumped into an armored brigade of Iraqi T-72 tanks of the elite Tawakalna Republican Guard division. Within twenty-three minutes of frenzied firing, the troop destroyed thirty-seven of the Soviet-designed T-72s without losing a vehicle in return.