Omsktransmash, a subsidiary of UralVagonZavod, sees the upgrade of T-80BV main battle tanks to the T-80BVM level as its main task, Omsktransmash CEO Igor Lobov told TASS at the Army-2021 International Military-Technical Forum. Proposals are available for the powerplant, the armor protection and, of course, for aiming and accomplishing firing tasks. Omsktransmash, a subsidiary of UralVagonZavod, had delivered the modernization of T-80 main battle tanks to the Russian Army. 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.
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 the upgraded version of the T-80BV tank. The T-80BVM has been produced by the Omsk Transport Machine-Building Enterprise (integrated into the Uralvagonzavod Group). The T-80BVM tank features an improved 125mm cannon and a more powerful 1,250 hp gas turbine engine. The main battle tank is furnished with a multi-channel gunner sight, a mechanic-driver’s vision device and an armament stabilizer. The tank is reinforced with slat and modular reactive armor. 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.
