The T-72 main battle tank was produced on a large-scale from 1979 to 1985. The tank was exported to several countries and was produced in the USSR, India, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. T-72s were first used in battle by the Syrian Army in 1982 during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Syrian President Hafez al Asad stated in one of his interviews,: "Tank T-72 is the world best", emphasizing, that Israeli tankmen were unable to brew up any of the tanks.
