Overall, the military parade will involve 225 weapon systems, of which 24 latest models will be demonstrated for the first time, according to the top brass

MOSCOW: Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed on Tuesday that T-90M ‘Proryv’ main battle tanks would roll across Moscow’s Red Square during the Victory Day parade on May 9.

A source in the defence industry earlier told TASS that these tanks would pass through Red Square for the first time in a mechanized column during the Victory Day parade.

"Five types of tanks will take part in the military parade in Moscow devoted to the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. Historical models of the legendary T-34-85 tanks will lead a mechanized column. The modern family of tanks operational in the Russian Armed Forces will be represented by T-72B3 models with additional armour protection, and also by T-80BVM and T-90M ‘Proryv’ tanks that will move in a parade formation for the first time within the mechanized column," the ministry said.

The mechanized column will also include the latest T-14 ‘Armata’ tanks. Overall, more than 50 tanks will take part in the military parade on Moscow’s Red Square, according to the Defence Ministry.

The T-90M ‘Proryv’ has received a principally new turret that differs from the serial-produced module and a more powerful engine. The Proryv is outfitted with a new multi-channel sighting system that allows employing weapons at any time of day or night and, as its major advantage, it can exchange data with other vehicles in real time. The T-90M’s armour features special anti-slip coating similar to that used on the latest T-14 Armata tank.

Overall, the military parade on Moscow’s Red Square on May 9 to mark 75 years of the Soviet Union’s victory in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany will involve 225 weapon systems, of which 24 latest models will be demonstrated for the first time, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said earlier. The mechanized column will include Armata and Kurganets-25 infantry fighting vehicles with the new Kinzhal and Epokha combat modules, S-300V4 and S-350 anti-aircraft missile systems, the Derivatsiya-PVO surface-to-air artillery system, a remotely-controlled mine-clearing vehicle and the family of Taifun armoured vehicles, the defence minister informed.

Also, the Tosochka flamethrower system will be demonstrated during the military parade for the first time, according to the Defence Ministry’s data.