Former T-90 Chief Designer Vladimir Domnin Dies at 80

Former chief designer of the Ural Design Bureau of Transport Machine Building (UKBTM), Vladimir Domnin, has died at the age of 80, according to the press service of Uralvagonzavod.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org by Vitaly V. Kuzmin, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Main battle tank T-90MS

Domnin passed away on July 6. He was an Honored Designer of the Russian Federation, a Candidate of Technical Sciences, and a recipient of the Russian Federation Government Prize in Science and Technology. Vladimir Domnin played an active role in military trials and the introduction of the T-72 tank into serial production.

Key Figure in the Development of Russia's Armored Vehicles

Domnin also participated in the testing of T-90S tanks in India. Under his leadership, work was completed on the development of the T-90A, T-72BA, and BMPT armored vehicles. His team also developed the T-72B3, T-90MS, upgraded variants based on the T-72 platform, as well as the BMR-3MA armored mine-clearing vehicle and the BREM-1M armored recovery vehicle.

Domnin served as chief designer of UKBTM from September 1999.

"Vladimir Borisovich's many years of dedicated work, his ability to overcome challenges, and his consistently attentive attitude toward every member of the team remain a vivid example of both a chief designer and a person of exceptional character," Uralvagonzavod said in a statement.

In January, it was reported that designer Nikolai Molodnyakov, who also worked on the T-90 tank, died at the age of 88. He made a significant contribution to the creation of Russia's first main battle tank, the T-90.