New T-84 Yatagan main battle tank with 120mm NATO cannon unveiled by Ukraine

During the military parade for the Independence Day of Ukraine on August 24, 2018, Ukrainian armed forces has presented the T-84 Yatagan MBT (Main Battle Tank), a new upgraded version of the local-made T-84 fitted with a NATO standard 120mm cannon.

New T-84 Yatagan at military parade for Ukraine Independence Day, august 24, 2018.  (Picture source Ukroboronprom)

The T-84 Yatagan also called T-84-120 was designed in 2000 based on the Ukrainian-made T-84 Oplot by the Kharkov Morozov Design Bureau based in Ukraine. The T-84 is based on a T-80UD fitted with a new turret of all-welded construction rather than the cast steel turret which was previously imported from Russia.

According to some military sources, the T-84 Yatagan was developed to offer a new generation of main battle tank compatible with the North Atlantic Alliance's standards. Since a few months, Ukraine has launched a Membership Action Plan, a multistage process of political dialogue and military reform to bring Ukraine armed forces in line with NATO standards and to eventual membership.

The design of the T-84 Yatagan seems very similar to the Russian-made MBT T-80 with a crew of three including driver seated at the front of the hull in the centre, gunner and commander in the turret.

The main armament of the T-84 Yatagan consists of one 120 mm smoothbore gun and a new bustle-mounted autoloader. A total of 40 rounds of ammunition are carried. The bustle-mounted automatic loader contains 22 rounds of ready-use ammunition with a further 16 rounds stowed in the additional stowage place - the conveyer located in the hull, and two more rounds are stored in the fighting compartment. Second armament includes one 7.62mm coaxial machine gun and one 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun mounted on the commander hatch.

The T-84 Yatagan is powered by a 6TD-2 multi-fuel diesel engine, developing 1 200 horsepower. It can run at maximum road speed of 65 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 540 km. The suspension is of the torsion bar type with each side having six dual rubber-tired road wheels with the idler at the front, drive sprocket at the rear and track-return rollers. Hydraulic shock absorbers are provided for the first, second and sixth road wheel stations either side. Thee upper part of the suspension is covered by a skirt, the forward part of which is armored.