Source: 12th. Brigade Public Affairs
A T-80U main battle tank belonging to the Tank Battalion, 12th. Special Forces Brigade “Azov”, National Guard of Ukraine. An evolution of the T-80A, the T-80U first entered service in 1985 and through 1999, received modernization to keep it competitive. The T-80U was, for the most part, a brand new tank rather than being an upgrade to existing T-80 tanks as was the case with the earlier T-80B and T-80A which appeared in 1978 and 1982 respectively.
Power for the 50-ton T-80U comes from a GTD-1250 3-shaft gas turbine engine that develops 1,250 horsepower and can propel the T-80U along roads at a maximum speed of 43 miles per hour and off-road, up to 30 miles per hour terrain depending. The GTD-1250, while powerful and reliable (as long as maintenance is rigidly followed), consumes fuel at a ravenous rate and has a much higher production cost in comparison to a standard diesel engine. Thus, the T-80U has a maximum cruise range of 208 miles (via 290 gallons of onboard fuel) and as such, the tank is often equipped with external fuel tanks (total of 195 additional gallons) to increase the range to 273 miles. The engine is paired to a manual planetary transmission with a 5-speed gearbox (4 forward, 1 reverse). To conserve fuel but still power the tank's systems, a GTA-18 auxiliary power unit (APU) is provided.
The main armament is a 2A46M-1 125mm smoothbore cannon which is mounted to a 2-axis, electro-hydraulic 2E42 stabilizer. The turret provides for 360 degrees of traverse while the gun mount allows for a maximum of 14 degrees of elevation and up to 5 degrees of depression. As with most Russian tanks, the cannon is provided with a Korzina automatic loader which is fed from a carousel that sits beneath the turret at the bottom of the hull. It holds 28 rounds of ammunition and with it, a rate of fire between 4 to 6 rounds per minute is possible. A further 17 rounds of ammunition are carried, kept both in the turret and hull, along with 6 Refleks missiles (see below). Accuracy is aided by a 1A42 or 1A45 Irtysh fire control system (FCS), 1V517 or 1V528-1 ballistic computer, 1G46 laser rangefinder, and a GPK-59 azimuth indicator. The gunner is provided with a TPN-4S day sight and a T01-K01R Buran-PA stabilized night sight. Typical ammunition used includes APFSDS (Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot), HE (High-Explosive), and HEAT (High-Explosive Anti-Tank) rounds plus the 9K119M Refleks-M tube-launched, laser guided anti-tank missile (NATO reporting name AT-11 Sniper). The older 3VBM20 APFSDS round can penetrate around 300mm of RHA (Rolled Homogeneous Armor) at a 60 degree slope at 1.2 miles. The 3VOF36 HE round can be fired out to a range of 2.5 miles while the Refleks-M can attain a range of 3 miles and drill through a maximum of 700mm of armor at a 90 degree slope after ERA (Explosive Reactive Armor) thanks to its tandem charge warhead. The gunner provides the guidance to target using a modulated laser beam. Secondary armament consists of a coaxial PKT 7.62mm machine-gun while mounted on the turret near the commander's hatch is a 12.7mm heavy machine-gun (either a DShK or NSVT). 1,250 rounds of ammunition are available for the PKT while 300 rounds are carried for the heavy machine-gun.
For protection, the T-80U uses composite armor on the hull and turret with the cheeks of the turret having additional defense comprised of semi-active, filled cells (NERA or Non-Energetic Reactive Armor) backed by steel plate and resin. The effect is that upon penetration by a shaped charge jet, the shock wave is disrupted by the filler, reducing the effectiveness of the penetrator. In addition to the base armor, the T-80U utilizes Kontakt-5 ERA blocks on the upper front hull, turret front, hull sides, and the top of the turret. This layered protection gives the T-80U's front hull the equivalent of 620mm thick armor against kinetic rounds and 1,100mm of armor against HEAT rounds. The turret front, with its additional defense, provides for 780mm of equivalent armor against kinetic rounds and 1,320mm of protection against HEAT. Additional defense comes from a 902B Tucha smoke grenade launcher system consisting of two banks of four launcher tubes on the turret sides. The T-80U can also be fitted with active protective systems such as Shtora-1 and Arena.
Other systems of the T-80U include a L-2AG Luna infrared spotlight, OU-3GKU infrared searchlight, ZETS-11-2 NBC protection system (Nuclear Biological Chemical), R-173 radio, R-174 and GRR-5 radio receivers, and a snorkel kit for fording water obstacles.
The T-80U pictured here has undergone some modifications with the main change being the removal of the Kontakt-5 ERA and replacing it with Ukrainian designed and produced Nizh (“Knife”) ERA blocks. This has necessitated some changes, namely the removal of the Luna spotlight (normally to the right of the gun on the turret face) and the shifting of the Tucha launch tubes towards the rear of the turret sides. Another difference from the T-80U is the usage of what look like side armor from a T-80BVM tank. If so, then it would consist of Relikt ERA. The crew has added heavy netting around the turret which serves as appliqué armor, providing a small measure of defense against HEAT munitions. Interestingly, the turret modifications give it the appearance of a T-90 tank turret. No heavy machine-gun is fitted but the mount can be seen near the commander's hatch.
