History's Most Costly Military Vehicles Revealed

15. T-72 Battle Tank – Russia

Producers: Uralvagonzavod's Heavy Vehicles Factory, Leonid Kartsev-Valeri Venediktov Primary Operators: Russian Armed Forces and the Soviet Union Program Expense: $12.5 billion* Unit expense: $500,000* The T-72 Battle Tank was created as a more cost-effective and reliable alternative to the T-64, which was an expensive and overly complicated project. First introduced in 1973, the T-72 has since become one of the most widely manufactured tanks globally, with over 25,000 units produced.

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©Credit: commons.wikimedia.org/Vitaly Kuzmin The T-72 has been exported to over 40 countries and has participated in countless conflicts. Its design includes a 125mm smoothbore tank gun and an optical coincidence rangefinder. Despite its age, the T-72 remains a crucial component of many nations' armored forces.