Russian defense company Omsktransmash, which is part of Uralvagonzavod under Rostec State Corporation, handed over another batch of T-80BVM Main Battle Tanks to the Russian Ministry of Defense as part of the State defense order. During their modernization, important work was carried out to improve the security of the tank crew. The T-80B entered production at Omsktransmash in 1979. Before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the T-80 was not used in the way in which it was intended. Until 2022, it was deployed during the political and economic changes in Russia in the 1990s. T-80UD tanks of the Russian 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division drove onto the streets of Moscow but the Soviet coup attempt failed when the tank crews refused to attack the audience or the parliament.
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 the gunner on the left and the 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 hp monobloc gas turbine engine instead of a 750-hp diesel engine of the T-64; later variants of the T-80 reverted to diesel engine usage. The turret houses the same 125 mm 2A46 smoothbore gun as the T-72, which can fire regular ordnance and anti-tank guided missiles. This holds up to 28 rounds of two-part ammunition in a carousel located under the turret floor. The ammunition comprises the projectile (APFSDS, HEAT, or HE-Frag) or the two-part missile.
The T-80BVM is an upgraded version of the T-80BV main battle tank. It was first publicly revealed in 2017. Due to high operational costs these tanks are being kept in reserve. The upgraded T-80BVM is fitted with Relikt explosive reactive armor kit. The same armor is used by the latest Russian main battle tanks, such as T-90M and T-90MS. However the T-80BVM was the first operational tank to be fitted with this new explosive reactive armor. The Relikt provides protection against tandem warheads and reduces penetration of APFSDS rounds by over 50%. The tank is fitted with rubber side skirts, with built-in armor plates. The T-80BVM is reportedly fitted with a passive countermeasures system, which improved protection against some types of anti-tank guided missiles.
The T-80BVM retains a 125 mm smoothbore gun. However it uses a newly-built 2A46M-4 gun, which has longer range and is 15-20% more accurate than the 2A46M-1 gun of the T-80BV. Effective range of fire with APFSDS round is 2 000-3 000 m day and 2 000-2 600 m at night. Armor penetration is around 590-630 mm at 2 000 m range. The T-80BVM is compatible with newly developed Svinets-1 and Svinets-2 APFSDS rounds with tungsten and depleted uranium penetrators. The tank can also launch 9M119M Refleks (NATO reporting name AT-11 or Sniper-B) anti-tank guided missiles in the same manner as ordinary munitions. These missiles extend the effective range of the 125 mm gun, which lacks accuracy at longer ranges.
