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Satellite Images of Russia’s Strategic Omsk Base Show Alarming Trend. Here’s What We Know
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![Ivan_khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
-21d0b63c17f6020e4df75f6c6f9a2f4f.jpg "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Satellite imagery from April 2025 shows that Russia has nearly exhausted its armored vehicle reserves at the storage facility of the Omsk Armored Vehicle Engineering Institute.
According to Militarnyi, citing open-source researcher @hizzo_jay who shared satellite imagery on social media, the facility—once home to hundreds of armored units—now appears largely empty.
As of 2021, the base reportedly housed around 120 tanks, 89 armored personnel carriers (APCs), 41 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), and 54 MT-12 “Rapira” anti-tank guns. These vehicles have since been removed from storage, suggesting that Russia is mobilizing its remaining reserves.
Although a few dozen trucks and engineering vehicles such as BAT-2s remain at the facility, the bulk of the armored equipment—previously stored under protective covers—has been deployed. The condition of the vehicles suggests they were well-preserved and likely intended for future operational use.
The Omsk Armored Vehicle Engineering Institute is the only higher education institution in Russia focused on training engineers in the maintenance, repair, and modernization of military vehicles. The withdrawal of equipment from such facilities underscores broader challenges facing the Russian military in maintaining its armored fleet.
In late March 2025, researchers from the Resurgam platform and Military Vischnun reported a significant decrease in Russia’s ability to restore tanks from storage. Based on their analysis of satellite imagery, restoration rates have dropped by a factor of 3.5 to 4 compared to 2022.
Between 2022 and 2025, Russia removed over 4,000 tanks from storage—about 54% of those considered viable for restoration. This surge led to a depletion of easily restorable vehicles and a subsequent slowdown in recovery operations. While thousands of tanks were withdrawn in 2022 and 2023, only 342 were taken out of storage between February 2024 and February 2025.
As of early 2025, 3,463 tanks remain at Russia’s major storage bases, with another 1,253 located at repair facilities. However, the number of tanks at industrial sites has begun to decline, signaling that restoration efforts now exceed the rate at which new tanks are being withdrawn from storage.
In 2022, Russia was reportedly refurbishing or producing up to 120 tanks per month. By the end of 2023, that figure fell to 90. Throughout 2024, monthly output fluctuated between 44 and 75 tanks, eventually stabilizing at around 50 units—a figure insufficient to offset battlefield losses. At the start of 2025, production slowed further to 30–35 tanks per month.
