The T-72 is a Soviet main battle tank that entered production in 1971 and entered service in 1973. The T-72 sacrificed interior space in order to have better armor than previous Soviet tanks, and it was given one of the largest main guns seen in the world at the time. T-72s never saw combat in the Soviet Army during the Cold War, as only T-55 and T-62 tanks fought in the Soviet-Afghan War; however, Syrian T-72s saw action in the Lebanese Civil War, while Ba'athist Iraq used the T-72 during the Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf War, and Russia would employ the T-72 during its conflicts with the Republic of Georgia and Ukraine. About 20,000 T-72 tanks have been built.