The Russian Army has expanded its fleet of T-80 essential battle tanks with the supply of a brand new batch of modernised and up-armoured T-80BVMs delivered by the Omsktransmash Transport Engineering Plant. The press workplace of Russia’s sole tank producing agency Uralvagonzavod reported on February 14 relating to the most recent supply: “Omsktransmash has dispatched a brand new batch of T-80BVM tanks to the Defence Ministry. The upgraded T-80BVM tanks have acquired enhanced reactive armour, which significantly improves the crew safety. As well as, the tanks go away the territory of the Omsk Transport Engineering Plant with an additional turret safety module, which was unveiled on the Army 2023 navy discussion board.” Uralvagonzavod and Omsktransmash had been the 2 largest of 4 tank producing factories which Russia inherited with the Soviet Union disintegrated, with the previous producing the T-72 and its spinoff the T-90 whereas the latter produced the Soviet Army’s most succesful tank class the T-80. A scarcity of demand for the T-80 because of its a lot greater manufacturing and operational prices, nonetheless, meant Omsktransmash shortly ceased to be economically viable, and it was absorbed by its competitor in 2004.
The fast enlargement of the Russian Army’s tank models from late 2022, each to maintain up with the calls for of the Ukrainian entrance and to confront rising NATO forces throughout Russia’s japanese, western and northern borders, has led the Russian defence sector to quickly pull Soviet-built tanks out of storage. These older automobiles have then been modernised with twenty first century fireplace controls, armour and weaponry. A very excessive proportion of T-80s had been in storage when hostilities between Russia and Ukraine escalated into full scale conflict in February 2022, as their excessive operational prices led the Defence Ministry to favour T-72s and T-90s because of their a lot decrease operational prices. These cheaper tanks, nonetheless, lack the added mobility and excessive suitability for excessive climates that the T-80 advantages from because of its use of a gasoline turbine engine. Such engines, though considerably including to the T-80’s upkeep wants, present a serious benefit in mobility, with solely the American M1 Abrams additionally being gasoline turbine powered. As a a lot smaller tank than the Abrams, nonetheless, the T-80 has a far superior energy: weight ratio, whereas nonetheless carrying a bigger gun calibre.
Relating to the capabilities of latest T-80s, a Russian Army commander engaged in fight with Ukrainian Army models, together with German-supplied Leopard tanks, said in January when interviewed by native media: “We now have acquired a very new automobile. The automobile has a essentially new communication system … It can’t be jammed, it really works very properly. Its sound is high-quality, clear, there are not any interruptions. The machine can be outfitted with a very new safety system.” He added that “further armour modules had been put in on the tank, enabling it to resist strikes from drones and anti-tank missiles.” The Russian Defence Ministry has proven rising indicators of getting revised its prior evaluation relating to the associated fee effectiveness of the T-80, with state media saying in September that work had begun at Omsktransmash to restart manufacturing of the tank class, which can complement present manufacturing of the T-90M and subsequent era T-14 tanks at Uralvagonzavod. It’s anticipated that new manufacturing fashions may have a considerably improved design over the most recent T-80BVMs, doubtlessly resembling how the T-72’s design was deeply modernised to develop the T-90 within the early Nineties.
