Uralvagonzavod to upgrade Russian fleet of T-80 Main Battle Tanks.

The Uralvagonzavod Corporation, a subsidiary of Russia’s Rostec state hi-tech corporation, has signed a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry to overhaul and upgrade T-80 main battle tanks, the press office of the Omsk Transport Machine-Building Plant said. The Omsk Transport Machine-Building Plant (Omsktransmash) is an Uralvagonzavod subsidiary.

A Russian Armed Forces' T-80BV MBT

According to Omsktransmash CEO Igor Lobov, a long-term contract has been signed.

"The contract for the overhaul and upgrade of the T-80 tank is a milestone event for our plant. This will allow us to load Omsktransmash’s manufacturing facilities with extra orders and improve the economic situation at the plant," Lobov said.

Omsktransmash launched the production of the T-80 main battle tank in the 1970s. Its upgrade will boost its operational capabilities.

Experts interviewed by the Omskregion news agency suppose that during the upgrade, the T-80 tank will receive the Sosna-U multichannel sight with a laser rangefinder, a thermal imager and an automatic target tracker.

Besides, the vehicle’s fuel consumption will be significantly reduced. Earlier, the tank with a gas-turbine engine consumed more than 7.5 liters of fuel per kilometer in certain operational conditions.

The tank will be also adapted for operation in northern areas. The designers have been tasked to make it able to operate at temperatures down to -50°C.

The T-80U main battle tank has a weight of 46.5 tons, a maximum road speed of 70 km/h (43.5 mph), a maximum cross-terrain speed of 40-45 km/h (25-28 mph) and a fuel endurance of 500 kilometers (311 miles) and its crew totals three. The tank is powered by the 1,250 hp three-shaft GTD-1250 gas-turbine engine.

The tank is armed with a 125mm 2A46M-1 smoothbore two-axis stabilized gun with an autoloader and a firing rate of 6-8 rounds per minute, a 7.62mm PKT coaxial machinegun, and a 12.7mm Utyos antiaircraft machinegun. It has an ammunition load of 45 rounds.

The tank has multilayered combined and explosive reactive armor and is protected against mass destruction weapons.

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