British man shows inside the T-72 tank in an Australian museum.The T-72 tank, which first entered production in 1973, was (alongside the T-80) considered to be the most advanced tank in the world during the 1970s and early 1980s.The first time it was used in combat was in the 1980 Soviet-Afghan war, and the tank went through numerous upgrades that have culminated in the T-90.However, as a result of advances in anti-tank weapons that occurred during the 1980s and 1990s, the T-72 is today considered to be vulnerable or obsolete, especially in its export versions. Despite this it continues to be used in the ongoing Syria and Ukraine conflicts.