T-80
m
| Width: | 3.60 m |
| Height: | 2.20 m |
| Weight: | 46.0 t |
| Speed: | 70 km/h (road)
48 km/h (off-road) |
| Range: | 335 km
600 km (with extra tanks) |
| Primary armament: | 125-mm 2A46 smoothbore gun |
| Secondary armament: | 7.62-mm PKT machinegun in coaxial mount
also carries a 12.7-mm NSVT anti-aircraft MG |
| Power plant: | 932-kW (1250-hp) Gas turbine |
| Crew: | 3 |
Production History
The T-80, a Soviet MBT, was first produced in 1978 and was the first production tank to be equipped with a gas turbine engine.
The question of why Western analysts might be confused about why the Soviets "chose to assign it a different model designation" is a bizarre one. It seems to be rooted in a poor understanding of Soviet tanks and their histories. The T-80 and T-72 are mechanically very different in many ways; they are also designed from square one by different design bureaus (Morozov as opposed to Nizhny Tagil), and really are only similar in general appearance. The T-80 is, in fact, based on the T-64, which was a competing design at the time the T-72 was produced. The T-64 was Morozov's offering, and was initially intended to be the Soviet Union's primary MBT, while the T-72 was intended to be mainly produced for export partners and east-bloc satellite states. The T-72 is mechanically simpler and easier to service in the field, while it is not as well protected, and the manufacturing process is correspondingly simpler.
This was enough of an advantage in the long term for the Soviet Union that the tank most produced was the T-72; obviously it better fit the Soviet ideal of quantity over quality; while the T-64 was the superior tank, it was more expensive and physically complex, and as such was not produced as much, and was never exported.
The T-64's story continues in the T-80. Morozov extrapolated on the design, including a gas turbine engine. This gave the tank a stunning power-to-weight ratio and made it easily the most mobile tank in the world (where it remains today, according to most experts). This is because while there are other tanks which boast similar power (the M1 series has a 1500-hp gas turbine as well, while it weighs in at a whopping 70 tons), the Soviet tanks are almost half the size and weight (hence the similarity in their looks; it's the national tank design ethic, pan shaped turrets, sharp hull fronts and low profiles).
It might be said the Russians are "desperate" to find export partners for it, which is not true; the Ukrainians are (Morozov is at Kharkov, in Ukraine. In the Soviet era, it was in the USSR, but is now a Ukrainian factory). They have been moderately successful, selling units of two types to Pakistan, while the Russians are "desperate" to sell the T-90, at which they have also been to some degree successful, selling units to India.
The T-80's disadvantages are in the small size of the tank (about 1/2 to 3/4 that of the M1, depending on the aspect). The crew quarters are cramped and difficult to work in. Except in more modern versions like Oplot and Black Eagle, the ammunition is stored below the crew inside the crew compartment in the autoloader carousel, which means that when the tank is penetrated, the ammo cooks off, killing the crew and blowing the turret into the air. Due to the small turret, it is impossible to de-elevate the gun more than a few degrees when the tank is in defilade, and so the tank has a hard time firing from hull-down positions, though in newer versions like Oplot and Black Eagle, this is mitigated as well with entirely new turrets.
These disadvantages are endemic to Soviet tank design; nearly all Soviet tanks have them, which is to say that the only additional disadvantage to the T-80 series might be its mechanical complexity. While that was an issue in the days of the T-64's usurpation by the T-72, it is less so today, except as concerns potential third-world export partners. In any case, most such customers cannot afford T-80s, and the most recent (and even more expensive) prototypes have solved all of these problems and in many ways are similar to current Western offerings, excepting that they are considerably smaller.
It is very similar to the T-72 and T-64 in appearance. The T-80 is highly maneuverable and mobile, often referred to as the "flying tank". Current versions of the T-80 are comparable to the newest Western offerings.
Variants
- T-80 - First production model.
- T-80B - New ceramic armour.
- T-80BV - Added explosive reactive armour.
- T-80U (1985) - New turret. Added ATGM AT-11 Sniper. More powerful engine. Added Kontakt-5 explosive reactive armour; which defeats APFSDS.
- T-80UD - Ukrainian version with 1000-hp diesel engine. (exported to Pakistan)
- T-80UK - Command version of T-80U, equipped with the Shtora Electro-optical countermeasures system.
- T-80UM - added new Buran Thermal Imaging sight in place of Luna IR.
- T-80UM1 Snow Leopard - Prototype with new Arena countermeasures system.
- T-80UM2 Black Eagle - New turret including separate crew and ammo compartments, blow-out panels on the ammo compartment, new autoloader, Kaktus ERA, new targeting systems, extended hull with an additional road wheel, and other undisclosed improvements.
- T-84 - Ukrainian upgrade of the T-80UD made for the export market. New welded turret and Shtora-1 countermeasures suite.
- T-84U - Ukrainian upgrade of the T-84. New sideskirts, turret-conformal Kontakt-5 panels. New APU.
- T-84-120 "Oplot" / "Yataghan" - Ukrainian upgrades to the T-84U, "Yataghan" is the version produced for the Turkish Army. The "Oplot" / "Yataghan" tank features a new welded turret with separate crew and ammo compartments with blowout panels on the ammo compartment, a new autoloader, turret-conformal Kontakt-5 ERA, the Buran Thermal Sight, The Shtora-1 countermeasures suite, and a 120-mm main gun which fires both NATO 120-mm rounds (like the M829 DU series) and a special 120-mm version of the ATGM AT-11 Sniper.
See also
