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Russia Ministry of Defense plans to upgrade T-80BV MBT main battle tank TASS 11511161

Military Defense Industry Technology - T-80BV

Russia Ministry of Defense plans to upgrade T-80BV MBT main battle tank.

Russia`s Ministry of Defense (MoD), JSC Omsktransmash (a subsidiary of the Uralvagonzavod corporation), and Transport Machine-Building Special Design Bureau (Russian acronym: Spetsmash, a subsidiary of Uralvagonzavod) are planning to bring back into service T-80BV main battle tanks (MBT) and to update the combat vehicles, according to the Izvestia newspaper.

Russian army T-80BV main battle tank (Photo copyright Vitaly Kuzmin)

The upgraded T-80BV MBTs will receive a new fire control system (FCS) and an advanced protection kit, while the fuel consumption of the vehicles will be significantly reduced. The MoD will start to take the deliveries of the updated T-80BV tanks in 2017.

The modernized MBTs will feature the Sosna-U advanced FCS (it incorporates a thermal imager, a laser rangefinder, and an automatic target tracking device), an update launch systems of energy generator and engine starter, and an advanced explosive reactive armour (ERA) plates. According to Izvestia, the modified T-80BV tanks will be suitable for the climatic conditions of the Far East, Siberia, and Arctic.

"At present, the preparative works to start the modernization of the first T-80BV MBTs are at a final stage. In accordance with the program developed by Omsktransmash and our company [SKBTM], the overhaul and modernization of the MoD`s T-80BV tanks will be launched next year. [We will be doing] the relevant works at the Omsktransmash facility," the Chief Designer of the T-80-family MBTs, Alexander Umanskiy told the Izvestia newspaper. The numbers of the tanks to be updated and the terms of the program will be defined by the military.

The T-80BV MBTs were originally brought into service in the early 1980s. They featured gas-turbine engines (1,000 h.p. and 1,250 h.p., respectively) that provided high maneuverability, speed, acceleration, and handling. However, these advantages were 'balanced' by an increased fuel consumption (about 8 l per kilometer) over the T-72 and T-90 tanks (about 2-4 l per kilometer).

The tank gas-turbine engine (GTE) that powers T-80BV resembles powerpacks intended for rotor-wing aircraft. All processes in GTE are performed in the moving gas flow, unlikely the internal combustion engine. It results in the ability of GTE to work at temperatures below -50C. Compressed air leaves compressor and flows to combustion flask to which fuel is introduced. The fuel burns and produces a large volume of pressurized gases. Then, the pressure energy is being transformed into the mechanical one by the movement of fins in the turbine, Izvestia pointed out.

The T-80BV is fitted with explosive reactive armour (ERA) plates.

According to the former head of the MoD`s Main Directorate for Automotive and Armoured Vehicles (Russian acronym: GABTU, Glavnoye Avtobronetankovoe Upravlenie), General Colonel (retired) Sergei Mayev, once the aforementioned T-80BV modernization program has been completed, Russia`s military will receive modern vehicles that can be used in harsh climatic conditions. "[Previously], the T-80 tank played an important role in the armed forces. The program to upgrade about 3,000 T-80 MBTs dates back to 2020; however, it was not implemented. [The defense industry] developed a unified combat compartment, a new tank gun with a round of advanced efficiency, ERA system, etc. Therefore, the specifications of the updated T-80, including the fuel consumption, did not come short of those of the T-90 tank," Mayev told the Izvestia newspaper.

According to the Military Balance 2016 report issued by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Russia`s Armed Forces operate 450 T-80BV/U MBTs; about 3,000 tanks of such types were place in store in previous years. The T-80 tanks were also offered to foreign customers. At present, Cyprus has deployed 82 T-80Us (U stands for Upgraded, Usovershenstvovanny), while Belarus 69 T-80s, Ukraine 8 T-80BVs, the Republic of Korea (ROK) 80 T-80Us, and Pakistan 320 T-80UD (UD stands for Upgraded, Diesel; Usovershenstvovanny, Dizelnyi), according to the Military Balance 2016 report.