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.