First introduced in the 1960s, it was highly advanced for its time, being one of the first tanks to be equipped with composite armor and an autoloader for its 125mm smoothbore cannon, which enabled it to use a three-man crew, keeping the design's weight and size down. It had a compact and powerful diesel engine which gave it superior mobility to the contemporaneous T-62, but had teething problems and its expense prompted the development of the T-72. Most were originally equipped with an infrared searchlight on the port side of the main gun and had small road wheels.
Notably, it is still in service with the Ukrainian Ground Forces, with various modifications being applied to its tank fleet.
