The T-72A main battle tank was produced on a large scale from 1979 to 1985. The tank was exported to several countries and was produced in the USSR, India, Poland< Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. T-72s were first used in battle by the Syrian Army in 1982 during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Syrian President Hafez al Asad stated in one of his interviews that the T-72 tanks are the best in the world.