Omsktransmash, a subsidiary of UralVagonZavod, had delivered the modernization of T-80 main battle tanks to the customer. The T-80BVM upgrade package was first shown in 2017 as a prototype. In 2019 and 2020 firm order were placed, totaling 112 or more vehicles. This probably varies widely, with T-80 known to be in use with well trained units and stored in a mothballed state since the early 1990’s. These tanks perform better than diesel powered tanks in extreme cold climate such as the Northern of Russia.
The T-80 is a tank designed and manufactured in the Soviet Union. When it entered service in 1976, it was the second tank in the world to be equipped with a gas turbine engine after the Swedish Strv 103 and the first to use it as a primary propulsion engine. 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, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, and Ukraine.
The T-80BVM is an upgrade project based on existing Cold War era Soviet T-80BV main battle tanks. The T-80BVM is an extensive modernization of existing T-80BV main battle tanks. Main gun, autoloader and APFSDS projectile are improved. Night vision devices for driver and gunner are improved, but there is no independent commander’s sight. The T-80BVM is armed with a 125mm 2A46M-4 smoothbore gun, replacing the older 2A46M-1. The new 2A46M-4 is more accurate and compatible with new Svinets-1 and Svinets-2 APFSDS rounds.
Omsktransmash (‘Omsk transport machine factory’) is a wholly state-owned engineering company based in the city of Omsk, Russia. The company was best known in the West during the Cold War period for its production of armoured vehicles such as the T-80 tank. The design bureau of the company, KBTM, was also responsible for the BTR-T, TOS-1 and 2S19 “Msta-S”. As well as formerly manufacturing tanks and other military vehicles, the company also produces a variety of wheeled industrial vehicles in both two- and four-wheel drive based on a ‘tractor’ chassis.
