LIMA, May 19 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has decided to leave a prototype T-90S battle tank in Lima, Peru, for trials by the Peruvian military, following its participation there in the SITDEF Peru 2013 arms exhibition last week, Russian state arms corporation Rosoboronexport said on Sunday.
"Rosoboronexport and Uralvagonzavod [its manufacturer] have been officially asked by the Peruvian military to leave the T-90S tank in Peru after the show for tests," Rosoboronexport's Sergei Ladygin said.
Those tests may take up to six months, he said.
Equipment will be delivered to Peru to allow the tank to undertake a range of firing trials, he added.
If the trials are successful, the Peruvians could buy a batch of 100 T-90S tanks, he said. Peru currently operates around 300 obsolete Soviet-made T-55 tanks, which Lima wants to replace with T-90S.
The modified T-90S is fitted with an increased power multi-fuel 1,130-h.p. diesel engine, giving the vehicle a top speed of over 60 km/h on roads and up to 45 km/h on rough terrain, Uralvagozavod says.
The 46.5 ton tank's redesigned turret features a modernized 125-mm gun fitted with an autoloader, capable of firing 9M119M missiles, new fire control, navigation and communications systems, and a remotely-controlled mounted 7.62-mm machine gun. It has a crew of three, who are protected by explosive reactive armor and an NBC protection system.
