A US jet destroyed a Russian-made T-72 battle tank in 'self-defense' in Syria

[metalbot]

17. Small nit

The 72 is from the year that production on the model began. There are plenty of T-72's that have been manufactured long after 1972.
Much the same as the AK-47 is a nomenclature given to a rifle that was put into production in 1947.

As to the origins of this particular tank, it's almost certainly of Russian origin, simply because Syria has been a long time client of Soviet and subsequently Russian military hardware. The Soviets didn't generally license manufacturing rights to other countries who would compete with them in the global marketplace. But still, intentionally sensationalist...