T - 80 The T - 80 is a third - generation main battle tank ( MBT ) designed and manufactured in the Soviet Union . A development of the T - 64 , it entered service in 1976 and was the first production tank to be equipped with a gas turbine engine for main propulsion . The T - 80U was last produced in a factory in Omsk , Russia , while the T - 80UD and further - developed T - 84 continue to be produced in Ukraine . The T - 80 and its variants are in service in Belarus , Cyprus , Kazakhstan , Pakistan , Russia , South Korea , and Ukraine . The chief designer of the T - 80 was the Russian engineer Nikolay Popov . Development history . The project to build the first Soviet turbine powered tank began in 1949 . Its designer was A . Ch . Starostienko , who worked at the Leningrad Kirov Plant ( LKZ ) . The tank was never built because available turbine engines were of very poor quality . In 1955 two prototype 1 , 000 hp ( 746 kW ) turbine engine were built at the same plant under the guidance of G . A . Ogloblin . Two years later a team led by the famous heavy tank designer Ż . J . Kotin constructed two prototypes of the Ob ' yekt 278 tank . Both were hybrids of the IS - 7 and the T - 10 heavy tanks , powered by the GTD - 1 turbine engine , weighing 53 . 5 tonnes and armed with the M65 130 mm tank gun . The turbine engine allowed the tank to reach a maximum speed of but with only 1950 liters of fuel on board , range was a mere . The two tanks were considered experimental vehicles and work on them eventually ceased . In 1963 , the Morozov Design Bureau designed the T - 64 and T - 64T tanks . They used a GTD - 3TL turbine engine which generated 700 hp ( 522 kW ) . The tank was tested until 1965 . At the same time in Uralvagonzavod a design team under the guidance of L . N . Karcew created the Ob ' yekt 167T tank . It used the GTD - 3T turbine engine which supplied 801 hp ( 597 kW ) . In 1966 the experimental Ob ' yekt 288 rocket tank , powered by two aerial GTD - 350 turbine engines with a combined power of 691 hp ( 515 kW ) , was first built . Trials indicated that twin propulsion was no better than the turbine engine which had been in development since 1968 at KB - 3 of the Kirov Plant ( LKZ ) and at WNII Trans Masz . The tank from LKZ equipped with this turbine engine was designed by Nikolay Popov . It was constructed in 1969 and designated Ob ' yekt 219 SP1 . It was renamed the T - 64T , and was powered by a GTD - 1000T multi - fuel gas turbine engine producing up to 1 , 000 hp ( 746 kW ) . During the trials it became clear that the increased weight and dynamic characteristics required a complete redesign of the vehicle ' s caterpillar track system . The second prototype , designated Ob ' yekt 219 SP2 , received bigger drive sprockets and return rollers . The number of wheels was increased from four to five . The construction of the turret was altered to use the same compartment , 125 mm 2A46 tank gun , auto loader and placement of ammunition as the T - 64A . Some additional equipment was scavenged from the T - 64A . The LKZ plant built a series of prototypes based on Ob ' yekt 219 SP2 . After seven years of upgrades , the tank became the T - 80 . Description . The T - 80 is similar in layout to the T - 64 ; the driver ' s compartment is on the centre line at the front , the two man turret is in the centre with gunner on the left and commander on the right , and the engine is rear mounted . Overall , its shape is also very similar to the T - 64 . The original T - 80 design uses a 1 , 000 horsepower gas turbine instead of a 750 horsepower diesel engine , although some later variants of the T - 80 revert to diesel engine usage . The gearbox is different , with five forward and one reverse gear , instead of seven forward and one reverse . Suspension reverts from pneumatic to torsion bar , with six forged steel - aluminium rubber - tyred road wheels on each side , with the tracks driven by rear sprockets . The glacis is of laminate armour and the turret is armoured steel . The turret houses the same 125 mm 2A46 smoothbore gun as the T - 72 , which can fire anti - tank guided missiles as well as regular ordnance . The tracks are slightly wider and longer than on the T - 64 giving lower ground pressure . The main gun is fed by the " Korzina " automatic loader . This holds up to 28 rounds of two - part ammunition in a carousel located under the turret floor . Additional ammunition is stored within the turret . The ammunition comprises the projectile ( APFSDS , HEAT or HE - Frag ) plus the propellant charge , or the two part missile . The autoloader is an effective , reliable , combat tested system which has been in use since the mid - 1960s . The propellant charge is held inside a semi - combustible cartridge case made of a highly flammable material - this is consumed in the breech during firing , except for a small metal baseplate . A disadvantage highlighted during combat in Chechnya was the vulnerability of the T - 80BV to catastrophic explosion . The reason given by US and Russian experts is the vulnerability of stored semi - combustible propellant charges and missiles when contacted by the molten metal jet from the penetration of a HEAT warhead , causing the entire ammunition load to explode . This vulnerability may be addressed in later models . When Western tank designs changed from non - combustible propellant cartridges to semi - combustible , they tended to separate ammunition stowage from the crew compartment with armoured blast doors , and provided ' blow - out ' panels to redirect the force and fire of exploding ammunition away from the crew compartment . The autoloader takes between 7 . 1 and 19 . 5 seconds to load the main weapon , depending on the initial position of autoloader carousel . The T - 80 ' s armor is made of composite armor on the turret and hull , while rubber flaps and sideskirts protect the sides and lower hull . The later T - 80 models use explosive reactive armor and stronger armor , like the T - 80U and T - 80UM1 . Other protection systems include the Shtora - 1 and Arena APS , as well as the discontinued Drozd APS ( though a limited number of T - 80Us have them installed ) . The latest T - 80 variant in service , the T - 84 Oplot , has an entirely new turret with armoured ammunition compartment to help prevent accidental detonation . Production history . Initially , the T - 80 was confused with the Soviet T - 72 by some Western analysts . They are the products of different design bureaus ; the T - 80 is from the SKB - 2 design bureau of the Kirov Factory ( LKZ ) in Leningrad while the T - 72 is from the Uralvagonzavod factory in Nizhny Tagil , Russia . They are similar in superficial appearance , but the T - 80 is based on the earlier T - 64 , while incorporating features from the T - 72 , which was a complementary design . The T - 64 in turn was an earlier high - technology main battle tank , designed by the Morozov Design Bureau ( KMDB ) to replace the obsolescent IS - 3 and T - 10 heavy tanks , used before in the Red Army ' s independent tank units . From a long distance T - 64 , T - 72 and T - 80 look alike even though the T - 80 is 90 cm longer than the T - 64 . Despite the similarities , the T - 80 and T - 72 are mechanically very different . The T - 72 is mechanically simpler , easier to manufacture , and easier to service in the field . As such , the T - 72 was intended to be a tank mass - produced to equip the bulk of the Soviet Motor Rifle units , and for sale to export partners and eastern - bloc satellite states . The T - 80 design improved in several points upon the earlier T - 64 design , introducing a gas turbine engine in the original model ( which was denied for many years by western analysts ) , and incorporating suspension components of the T - 72 . This gave the tank a high power - to - weight ratio and made it easily the most mobile tank in service , albeit with acute range problems , as the turbine consumed fuel rapidly , even at engine idle . ( Morozov ' s subsequent parallel development of the T - 80UD replaced the gas turbine with a commercial turbo - diesel , to decrease fuel consumption and maintenance . ) In comparison to its anticipated opponent , the M1 has a larger 1 , 500 hp ( 1 , 120 kW ) gas turbine , but weighs 61 tons compared to the T - 80s 42 . 6 tons , so it has a worse hp / t ratio of 24 . 5 compared to 27 . 1 and is less maneuverable than the T - 80 ( with GT ) . The T - 80 can fire the same 9K112 Kobra ( AT - 8 Songster ) anti - tank guided missile through the main gun as the T - 64 . The T - 80U main battle tank ( 1985 , " U " for " uluchsheniye " , meaning " improvement " ) was designed by SKB - 2 in Leningrad ( hull ) and the Morozov Bureau ( turret and armament ) . It is a further development of T - 80A and is powered by the 1 , 250 hp ( 919 kW ) GTD - 1250 gas turbine . It is a step ahead of the GTD - 1000T and GTD - 1000TF engines that were installed on the previous tanks of the T - 80 line . This gas turbine can use jet fuels as well as diesel and low - octane gasoline , has good dynamic stability , service life , and reliability . The GTD - 1250 has a built - in automatic system of dust deposits removal . It retains the T - 80s high fuel consumption , which the Russian army found unacceptable during the Chechen conflicts . It is equipped with the 1A46 fire control system and a new turret . The T - 80U is protected by a second generation of explosive reactive armour called Kontakt - 5 , which can severely dissipate the penetrative capabilities of an APFSDS round , such as the M829A1 " Silver Bullet " . The Kontakt - 5 is integrated into the design of the turret , hull , and Brod - M deep wading equipment . Like all of the previous T - 80 models , the T - 80U has full length rubber side skirts protecting the sides but those above the first three road wheels are armored and are provided with lifting handles . It can fire the 9M119 Refleks ( AT - 11 Sniper ) guided missile and the Long - Rod penetrator ( HVAPFSDS ) 3BM46 . The remotely controlled commander ' s machine gun is replaced by a more flexible pintle - mounted one . A special camouflage paint distorts the tank ' s appearance in the visible and IR wavebands . The T - 80U ' s 1A46 fire control system includes a laser range finder , a ballistics computer , and a more advanced 1G46 gunner ' s main sights , as well as thermal imaging sights , which greatly increases the T - 80Us firepower over previous models . These new systems , together with the 125mm D - 81TM " Rapira - 3 " smooth bore gun , ensures that the T - 80U can accurately hit and destroy targets at a range of up to 5 kilometers ( ATGMs and HV / APFSDS ) . The T - 80U ( M ) of the 1990s introduced the TO1 - PO2 Agava gunner ' s thermal imaging sight and 9M119M Refleks - M guided missile , and later an improved 2A46M - 4 version of the 125 mm gun and 1G46M gunner ' s sight was used . Perhaps because of the turbine - powered tank ' s high fuel consumption , and the poor combat performance of older T - 80BV tanks in the early days of the war in Chechnya , the Russian Army decided to standardize on the Uralvagonzavod factory ' s T - 90 tank ( derived from the T - 72BM , but incorporating some T - 80 technology ) , and have had some success selling it to the Indian Army . All T - 72s , T - 80s , and even the T - 90 will be replaced starting 2025 by a new Russian tank which several designs are under development . The Omsk Tank Plant in Siberia is facing a shortage of domestic orders , unlike the Ukrainians which embraced the T - 80 design and has had success updating and selling the tank . The Russians have only sold a small number of T - 80 tanks to South Korea and China , and have demonstrated versions intended for export , including the T - 80UM1 with active protection system s , and the advanced T - 80UM2 Black Eagle concept tank . Although the T - 80 production has stopped for the Russian Army , the Omsk plant still makes the tank for export . As of 2014 the Russian military has removed the T - 80 fleet from service but it still has 4 , 500 in storage . Ukrainian T - 80UD . In parallel with the T - 80U and Russia in general , the Morozov Bureau in Ukraine developed a diesel - powered version , the T - 80UD . It is powered by the 1 , 000 - hp 6TD - 1 6 - cylinder multi - fuel two - stroke turbo - piston diesel engine , ensuring high fuel efficiency and a long cruising range . The engine support systems make it possible to operate the tank at ambient fuel temperatures of up to 55 °C and to ford to a water depth of 1 . 8 m . The T - 80UD shares most of the T - 80U ' s improvements , but can be distinguished from it by a different engine deck and distinctive smoke - mortar array and turret stowage boxes . It retains the remotely - controlled commander ' s machine gun . About 500 T - 80UD tanks were built in the Malyshev plant between 1987 – 91 . About 300 were still at the Ukrainian factory when the Soviet Union broke up , so the T - 80UD tank and its design was far more welcomed in Ukrainian Military service . And is more common in Ukrainian service than Russian . The T - 84 and Ukraine ' s older T - 80s will be Ukraine ' s main battle tank well into the 21st century . A further improvement of the T - 80UD is the Ukrainian T - 84 main battle tank , which includes the new welded turret , a 1 , 200 - hp ( 895 kW ) 6TD - 2 engine , Kontakt - 5 reactive armour , the Shtora active protection system , a thermal imaging sight , a muzzle referencing system , and an auxiliary power unit . The T - 84U ( 1999 ) shows many refinements , including deeper sideskirts , modified reactive armour , a small reference radar antenna near the gunner ' s hatch ( used to track rounds and compensate for barrel wear ) , and a large armoured box for the auxiliary power unit at the rear of the right fender . Unlike Russia , Ukraine has had much better success selling T - 80s and T - 84 s to foreign customers . Cyprus has bought a number for its small army . Pakistan countering India ' s adoption of the Russian T - 90 has bought Ukrainian T - 80UDs for its main armored corps in the Pakistani army . The T - 84 Oplot ( ten delivered in 2001 ) introduced turret - bustle ammunition storage , and to offer more sales to international market , the T - 84 - 120 Yatagan has been offered for export , featuring a very large turret bustle and NATO - compatible 120 mm gun . As of 2010 Bangladesh has ordered a major purchase of T - 84 Yatagans . In 2011 Azerbaijan announced its intention to buy Ukrainian T - 84 Oplots to be Azerbaijan ' s main battle tank in its Army ( It later bought 94 T - 90 ' s ) . T - 80 models . This section lists the main models of the T - 80 , built in the Soviet Union , Russia and Ukraine , with the dates they entered service . Command tanks with additional radio equipment have " K " added to their designation for " komandirskiy " ( " command " ) , for example , " T - 80BK " is the command version of the T - 80B . Versions with reactive armour have " V " added , for " vzryvnoy " ( " explosive " ) , for example " T - 80BV " . Less - expensive versions without missile capability have a figure " 1 " added , as " T - 80B1 " . Service history . Soviet Union . In 1985 there were 1 , 900 T - 80 MBTs overall . According to data publicized in Russia , 2 , 256 T - 80 MBTs were stationed in East Germany between 1986 and 1987 . NATO realized that new Soviet tanks could reach the Atlantic within two weeks and because of that started to develop counter methods that could stop them . This led to a sudden increase in development of anti - tank weapon s including attack helicopters . In 1991 when the Soviet Union was breaking up the Soviet Army operated 4 , 839 T - 80 MBTs in several different models . T - 80 MBTs were never used in the way in which they were intended ( large scale conventional war in Europe ) . They were deployed during the political and economical changes in Russia in the 1990s ; In August 1991 communists and allied military commanders tried to overthrow Mikhail Gorbachev and regain control over the unstable Soviet Union . T - 80UD tanks of the Russian 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division drove onto the streets of Moscow but the Soviet coup attempt failed . Russia . While a number of T - 80 MBTs were inherited by Ukraine , Belarus and Kazakhstan , Russia had possession of the majority of the tanks . In 1995 the number of T - 80 tanks increased to around 5 , 000 but was reduced in 1998 to 3 , 500 . The Russian Army had 3 , 044 T - 80s and variants in active service and 1 , 456 in reserve as of 2008 . There are at least 460 T - 80UD in service with 2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division and 4th Guards Kantemirowsk Motor Rifle Division . A T - 80BV is on display in Kubinka Tank Museum and a T - 80U is on display at an open air museum in Saratov . The T - 80Us have recently been seen at arms expos in Russia such as VTTV . During the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis Boris Yeltsin ordered the use of tanks against the Supreme Soviet and the Congress of People ' s Deputies which opposed him . On 4 October 1993 six T - 80UD MBTs from 12th Guards Tank Regiment , 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division took positions on a bridge opposite the Russian parliament building , and fired on it . In July 1998 , a T - 80 commanded by Major Igor Belyaev was driven into a square in front of the administration building of Novosmolensk and its gun aimed at the building in protest of several months of unpaid wages . First Chechen War . T - 80B and T - 80BV MBTs were never used in Afghanistan in the 1980s , but they were first used during the First Chechen War . This first real combat experience for T - 80 MBTs was unsuccessful , as the tanks were used for capturing cities , a task for which they were not very well suited . The biggest tank losses were suffered during the ill - fated assault on the city of Grozny . The forces selected to capture Grozny were not prepared for such an operation , while the city was defended by , among others , veterans of the Soviet War in Afghanistan . The T - 80 tanks used in this operation either did not have reactive armour ( T - 80B ) or they were not fitted before the start of the operation ( T - 80BV ) , and the T - 80 crews lacked sufficient training before the war . The inexperienced crews had no knowledge of the layout of the city , while the tanks were attacked by RPG teams hidden in cellars and on top of high buildings . The anti - tank fire was directed at the least armoured points of the vehicles . Each destroyed tank received from three to six hits , and each tank was fired at by six or seven rocket - propelled grenade s . A number of vehicles exploded when the autoloader , with vertically placed rounds , was hit : in theory it should have been protected by the road wheel , but , when the tanks got hit on their side armour , the ready - to - use ammunition exploded . Out of all armored vehicles that entered Grozny , 225 were destroyed in the first month alone , representing 10 . 23 % of all the tanks committed to the campaign . The T - 80 performed so poorly that General - Lieutenant A . Galkin , the head of the Armor Directorate , convinced the Minister of Defence after the conflict to never again procure tanks with gas - turbine engines . After that , T - 80 MBTs were never again used to capture cities , and , instead , they supported infantry squads from a safe distance . Defenders of the T - 80 point out that the T - 72 performed just as badly in urban fighting in Grozny as the T - 80 and that there were two mitigating factors : after the breakup of the Soviet Union , poor funding meant no training for new Russian tank crews , and the tank force entering the city had no infantry support , which is considered to be suicidal by many major military strategists of armored warfare . Exported T - 80s . While other kinds of Soviet equipment , like the T - 72 , were exported to many countries around the world , T - 80 , like T - 64 before it , had a status of secret weapon which meant that it was not planned to be exported early on . Despite that , Poland was negotiating with the Soviet Union to buy either T - 72S or T - 80 MBTs . There were plans to start serial production of T - 80 MBTs in Poland but it turned out that Polish industry wasn ' t yet ready to handle T - 80 production . After the political changes of 1989 in Poland and the dissolution of the Soviet bloc , Polish - Soviet talks on purchase of modern tanks came to a halt . This led to Poland developing the PT - 91 MBT . United Kingdom . In 1992 , the United Kingdom bought a number of T - 80U MBTs for defence research and development . They were not bought officially but through a specially created trading company which was supposed to deliver them to Morocco . The price of five million USD offered for each tank ensured a lack of suspicion on the part of the Russians . Britain evaluated the tanks on their proving grounds and transferred one to the US where the Americans evaluated it on the Aberdeen Proving Ground . While evaluating the vehicle , the US and UK are alleged to have noted any weak spots and flaws of the T - 80U . In January 1994 , British Minister of State for Defence Procurement Jonathan Aitken ( answering a Question to the Secretary of State for Defence ) confirmed in parliamentary debates that a Russian T - 80U tank was imported for " defence research and development purposes " . People ' s Republic of China . Some sources considers in late 1993 Russia signed a contract with the People ' s Republic of China for the sale of 200 T - 80U MBTs for evaluation . Only 50 were delivered . But there is no corresponding materials from China . Pakistan . Ukrainian exports of the T - 80UD have been moderately successful . In 1993 and 1995 Ukraine demonstrated the tank to Pakistan , which was looking for a new main battle tank . The tank was tested in Pakistan and in August 1996 Pakistan decided to buy 320 T - 80UD tanks from Ukraine for $ 650 million in two variants : a standard Ob ' yekt 478B and export Ob ' yekt 478BE . < ref name = " NTW 07 / 09 " > [ Nowa Technika Wojskowa issue 07 / 09 ] < / ref > The tanks were all supposed to be delivered in 1997 . After the first batch of 15 vehicles were shipped in February 1997 , Russia protested that they held the rights to the tank and that Ukraine couldn ' t export it . Nearly 70 % of T - 80UD components were produced outside of Ukraine ( mainly in Russia ) . Under the guise of keeping good relations with India , one of its most important military customers , Russia withheld 2A46 - 2 125 mm smoothbore guns , cast turrets and other technology , which forced Ukraine to make its tank industry independent . It developed domestic components , including a welded turret which was in use on the new T - 84 . Ukraine was able to ship 20 more T - 80UD tanks to Pakistan between February and May 1997 . These 35 tanks were from Ukrainian Army stocks of 52 T - 80UDs ; they were built in the Malyshev plant several years before but were not delivered to their original destination . Their capabilities were below the standard agreed by both Ukraine and Pakistan . The contract was completed by shipping another 285 Ukrainian T - 80UD MBTs between 1997 and early 2002 . These had the welded turret and other manufacturing features of the T - 84 . Cyprus . Cyprus is the first foreign country to officially obtain T - 80 tanks . Russia sold 27 T - 80U and 14 T - 80UK for $ 174 million to Cyprus in 1996 . The tanks arrived in two batches . The first shipment consisted of 27 T - 80U MBTs arriving in 1996 , while the second batch of 14 T - 80UK MBTs arrived in 1997 . This significantly reinforced the army of this country ; their best tank up until that point was the AMX - 30 B2 . New tanks gave the Cypriot National Guard the edge in a possible confrontation with the Turkish Army in Northern Cyprus . In October 2009 Cyprus ordered an additional batch of 41 used T - 80Us and T - 80UKs from Russia for €115 million . Deliveries are expected to be completed in the first half of 2011 . South Korea . South Korea was given 33 T - 80U and 2 T - 80UK tanks to pay Russian debts incurred during the days of the Soviet Union . The tanks came in three batches ; the first was of six T - 80Us in 1996 , followed by 27 T - 80Us in 1997 , and finally two T - 80UKs in 2005 . Originally , eighty T - 80Us were planned . United States . The US Government obtained one T - 80U from the United Kingdom . It was evaluated on the Aberdeen Proving Ground . In 2003 , the Ukraine transferred four T - 80UD MBTs to the USA . Failed export attempts . Apart from Cyprus and the People ' s Republic of China , Russia has tried to export T - 80 MBTs to Turkey and Greece , who were looking for new tanks . These two attempts have failed . List of operators . The Soviet Union never exported the T - 80 tank only perhaps to Syria ( 320 tanks ) according to Military Today ( source 40 ) .