2A46M

The 2A46M is a Soviet/Russian 125mm smoothbore tank gun. It is the primary armament of many tanks developed by the Soviet Union and later Russia, including variants of the T-64, T-72, T-80, and T-90 main battle tanks. The gun is designed to fire a variety of ammunition types, including armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds, high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds, and high-explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG) rounds. It can also fire laser-guided anti-tank missiles, such as the 9M119 Svir and 9M119M Refleks, allowing for engagement of targets at extended ranges.

The 2A46M features a horizontal wedge breech block and is typically equipped with an autoloader, which significantly reduces the tank's crew size and increases the rate of fire. Its development began in the 1970s, and it has undergone several modernizations and variants over the years, improving its accuracy, range, and reliability. These upgrades have led to designations like 2A46M-1, 2A46M-2, 2A46M-4, and 2A46M-5, each incorporating incremental improvements. The 2A46M family of guns represents a long-standing and effective tank armament in global military inventories.