Obiekt 490A

The armor consisted of a layer of steel followed by composite armor, which consisted of five layers of steel separated by four layers of ceramic. The roof armor was unusually high on the hull as well as the turret in order to prevent the vehicle from being damaged by artillery.[4] The vehicle's fuel tank was located to the right of the driver and acted as extra armor.[1]

Ammunition was stored in a compartment situated in the right side of the turret and the commander was situated right beside it. The gunner seat was placed in front of the commander. This fighting compartment was completely isolated from the rest of the tank, including from the driver who was to be situated in the front.[1]

Reactive armor (presumably Kontakt-5) was designed to be implemented to the front of the tank as well as the sides, but the production was cancelled before the vehicle reached that stage.[5]

The vehicle sported a fire-control system (designated as "Argus"). Argus was the main computer to which the radar, thermal imager and cameras were linked to. [5] The gun was mounted externally rather than inside an armoured turret, giving the tank a lower profile.[1] The creators of the vehicle, Bazhenov and Shomin, debated over what caliber of gun should replace the previously planned 125mm 2A66M smoothbore. A 130 mm was suggested, but a 152 mm 2A73 gun would instead be the gun implemented on future models.[3]

The 5TDF engine manufactured in the Malyshev Factory was used as a temporary placeholder and would be changed out for the 1500 horsepower KMDB 6TD-3 6-cylinder diesel engine. Paired with a hydraulic drive system and 580 mm wide tracks, the tank had good mobility for its weight. The tank had an approximate 31 hp/t power-to-weight ratio, allowing the vehicle to travel at 75km/h on roads and 55km/h off-road.