Talk:T-80

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Mzajac (talk | contribs) at 15:50, 6 December 2004 (Not comparable to Western offerings?). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Latest comment: 21 years ago by Zenogantner

The question of why Western analysts might be confused about why the Russians 'chose to assign it a different model designation' is a bizarre one. It seems to be rooted in a poor understanding of Russian tanks and their histories. The T-80 and T-72 are mechanically very different tanks, in a lot of ways; they are also designed from square one by completely different design bureaus (Morozov as opposed to Nizhny Tagil) and really are only similar in general appearance. The T-80 is based on the T-64, which was a competing design at the time the T-72 was produced. The T-64 was Morozov's offering, and was initially intended to be Russia's primary MBT, while the T-72 was intended to be mainly produced for export partners and east-bloc satellite states. The T-72 is mechanically simpler and easier to service in the field, while it is not as well protected, and the manufacturing process is correspondingly simpler.

This was enough of an advantage in the long term that the tank most produced was the T-72; obviously it better fit the Soviet ideal of quantity over quality; while the T-64 was the superior tank, it was more expensive, and as such was not produced as much, and was never exported.

The T-64's story continues in the T-80. Morozov extrapolated on the design, including a 1500hp gas turbine engine. This gave the tank a stunning power-to-weight ratio and made it easily the most mobile tank in the world (where it remains today, according to most experts). This is because while there other tanks which boast similar power (the M1 series has a 1500hp gas turbine as well, where it weigs in at 70 tons), the Russian tanks are almost half the size and weight (hence the similarity in their looks; it's the low profile and the national tank design ethic, pan shaped turrets, sharp hull fronts and low profiles).

The T-80's main disadvantages are common to all Russian tanks, and as such, it might be said the Russians are 'desperate' to find export partners for it. . . which isn't true; the Ukranians are, and they have been moderately successful, while the Russians are 'desperate' to sell the T-90, at which they have also been successful.

These disadvantages are in the small size of the tank (about 1/2 to 3/4 that of the M1, depending on the aspect). the crew quarters are cramped and difficult to work in. The ammunition is stored (except in more modern versions like Oplot and Black Eagle) below the crew inside the crew compartment in the autoloader carousel, which means that when the tank is penetrated, the ammo cooks off, killing the crew and blowing the turret into the air. Due to the small turret, it is impossible to de-elevate the gun more than a few degrees when the tank is in defilade, and so the tank has a hard time firing from hull-down positions, though in newer versions like Oplot and Black Eagle, this is mitigated as well with entirely new turrets.

These disadvantages are endemic to Russian tank design, nearly all Russian tanks have them, wich is to say that the only additional disadvantage to the T-80 series might be its mechanical complexity, but of course, while that was an issue in the days of the T-64's usurpation by the T-72, it is less so today, except as concerns potential third-world export partners (most of whom cannot afford T-80s anyway; and in any case, the most recent (and even more expensive) prototypes have solved all of these problems and in many ways are similar to current Western offerings, excepting that they are considerably smaller.


"russian" is quiet wrong. it should be "soviet" --zeno 23:36, 6 May 2004 (UTC)Reply

Not comparable to Western offerings?

In what way are the T-84U or T-84-120 not comparable to the newest Western offerings? They seem to be at least in the same category, if not in some ways superior, in terms of firepower, mobility, protection, and technology. Michael Z. 15:50, 2004 Dec 6 (UTC)