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De T-80 is een Russische tank, ontworpen in de Sovjet-Unie en in dienst genomen in 1976. De T-80 is een verdere ontwikkeling van de T-64. De T-80 is de eerste productietank ter wereld die was uitgerust met een gasturbine als hoofdaandrijving. De hoofdingenieur van de T-80 was de Russische ingenieur Nikolaj Popov.

De T-80 is mede ontworpen door de Kirovfabriek in Sint-Petersburg en werd vervaardigd door Transmasj uit Omsk. De tank heeft als hoofdbewapening een 125 mm-kanon met gladde loop en een automatische lader. Met de lader heeft het Sovjetleger al ervaring sinds medio jaren zestig en is een beproefd concept. Het kanon kan anti-tank geleide raketten afvuren naast de gewone munitie. De tank werd ook uitgerust met een laserafstandsmeter waardoor de trefkans toenam. De bestuurdersruimte is aan de voorkant in het midden van de tank. In de tweepersoonskoepel zit de schutter links en de commandant rechts. De motor is een gasturbine van 1000 pk, maar latere versies zijn weer uitgerust met zuiniger dieselmotoren die ook eenvoudiger in het onderhoud zijn. De versnellingsbak telt vijf versnellingen vooruit en één achteruit. De maximumsnelheid op de weg is zo'n 70 km/h en in terrein ongeveer 43 km/h. Met de normale brandstoftanks van 1100 liter ligt het bereik op 335 km.
De T-80 en zijn variaties zijn nog steeds in gebruik in Wit-Rusland, Cyprus, Kazachstan, Pakistan, Rusland, Zuid-Korea en Oekraïne. De T-80U en T-80UM modificaties zijn op dit moment in productie in Omsk. Een geavanceerde afgeleide, de T-84, wordt nog steeds in Oekraïne geproduceerd. Deze laatste is een doorontwikkeling van de T-80UD met een 1200 pk dieselmotor en een aangepaste geschutskoepel.
In 1997 werd een nieuwe tank aangekondigd, de Zwarte Arend, met verlengde chassis van de T-80U en een nieuwe geschuttoren met een nieuw kanon en een nieuw laadsysteem. Ook zat er niemand in de geschuttoren, vanwege de giftige gassen die vrijkomen. Het project is stopgezet en de nieuwe tank T-14 Armata is inmiddels al in productie.

De T-80 werd ingezet tijdens de Russische invasie van Oekraïne in 2022.[1] Zeker 880 stuks gingen verloren (juni 2024),[2] hoofdzakelijk het type T-80BV uit de Sovjettijd.

The T-80 is a main battle tank (MBT)[11] that was designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union and manufactured in Russia. The T-80 is based on the T-64, while incorporating features from the later T-72 and changing the engine to a gas turbine. When it entered service in 1976, it was the first production tank to be powered solely by turbine.

The chief designer of the T-80 was Soviet engineer Nikolay Popov.[13] The T-80U was last produced in 2001 in a factory in Omsk, Russia. In 2023, the CEO of Uralvagonzavod announced that production would restart.[14]
The Ukrainian T-80UD diesel engine variant continued to be produced in Ukraine. The T‑80 and its variants are in service in Belarus, Cyprus, Egypt, Kazakhstan,[15] Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Ukraine further developed the T‑80UD as the T‑84.

Development
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The project to build the first Soviet turbine powered tank began in 1949. Its designer was A. Ch. Starostienko, who worked at the Leningrad Kirov Plant (LKZ). The tank was never built because available turbine engines were of very poor quality.
In 1955, two prototype 1,000 hp (746 kW) turbine engines were built at the same plant under the guidance of G. A. Ogloblin. Two years later a team led by Josef Kotin constructed two prototypes of the Object 278 tank. Both were hybrids of the IS-7 and the T-10 heavy tanks, powered by the GTD-1 turbine engine, weighing 53.5 tonnes and armed with an M65 130 mm tank gun. The turbine engine allowed the tank to reach a maximum speed of 57.3 km/h (35.6 mph), however with only 1,950 liters of fuel on board, their range was limited to only 300 km (190 mi). The two tanks were considered experimental vehicles and work on them eventually ceased.
In 1963, the Morozov Design Bureau designed the T-64, normally powered by the 5TDF diesel. They also experimented with the T-64T with GTD-3TL turbine engines which generated 700 hp (522 kW). This was tested until 1965. At the same time, at Uralvagonzavod, a design team under the guidance of Leonid N. Kartsev created the Object 167T tank. In 1964, in its report to First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev, the team reported that the design was not worth pursuing partly due to its high fuel use

In 1960, Khrushchev ended all heavy tank programs. LKZ, concerned with the poor reliability of the 5TD diesel engine of the T-64, was freed to focus on gas turbine tank engine development. In 1967, the S. P. Izotov bureau at the Klimov Research-Production Association was assigned to this project. Rather than re-purpose an existing helicopter engine, Izotov built the GTD-1000T from scratch.[18]
In 1966, the LKZ built the experimental Object 288 "rocket tank," powered by two Klimov GTD-350 turbine engines from the Mil Mi-2 helicopter, offering a combined power of 691 hp (515 kW). Trials indicated that twin propulsion was no better than the turbine engine which had been in development since 1968 at LKZ and Omsktransmash.[19]
Object 219
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The tank from LKZ equipped with this turbine engine was designed by Nikolay Popov. It was constructed in 1969 and designated Object 219 SP1.[20] It was essentially the T-64T powered by a GTD-1000T multi-fuel gas turbine engine producing up to 1,000 hp (746 kW). During the trials it became clear that the increased weight and dynamic characteristics required a complete redesign of the vehicle's suspension. The second prototype, designated Object 219 SP2, received bigger drive sprockets and return rollers. The number of road wheels was increased from five to six. The construction of the turret was altered to use the same compartment, 125 mm 2A46 tank gun, autoloader and placement of ammunition as the T-64A. Some other equipment was borrowed from the T-64A. The LKZ plant built a series of prototypes based on Object 219 SP2.

In November 1974, Minister of Defence Andrei Grechko, denied approval to put the Object-219 into production due to the tank's high fuel use and lack of advantages in armament and armour over other tanks then in production. Grechko died in April 1976, and Dmitry Ustinov, an enthusiastic supporter of the Object 219, was appointed in his place. The Object 219-2 was accepted for production as the T-80 in August 1976.[21][22]
The Object 219R, incorporating Combination K composite armour, was accepted for Soviet service in 1978 as the T-80B. Production of the original T-80 ended that same year. The T-80B entered production at Omsktransmash in 1979. Omsk developed a command version called the T-80BK. The T-80B was deployed with the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany in 1981.[23]
Initially, the T-80 was confused with the Soviet T-72 by some Western analysts. They are the products of different design bureaus; the T-80 is from the SKB-2 design bureau of the Kirov Factory (LKZ) in Leningrad while the T-72 is from the Uralvagonzavod factory in Nizhny Tagil. They are similar in superficial appearance, but the T-80 is based on the earlier T-64, while incorporating features from the T-72, which was a complementary design.[24] The T-64 in turn was an earlier high-technology main battle tank, designed by the Morozov Design Bureau in Kharkiv to replace the T-54/55 and T-62 MBTs, used before in the Soviet Union.
From a distance, the T-64, T-72 and T-80 look alike. Despite the similarities, the T-80 is 90 cm longer than the T-64, and the T-80 and T-72 are mechanically very different. The T-72 is mechanically simpler, easier to manufacture, and easier to service in the field. As such, the T-72 was intended to be a tank mass-produced to equip the bulk of the Soviet motor rifle units, and for sale to export partners and Eastern-bloc satellite states.
The T-80 design improved on several aspects of the earlier T-64 design, introducing a gas turbine engine in the original model,[b] and incorporating suspension components of the T-72. This gave the tank a high power-to-weight ratio and made it easily the most mobile tank in service, albeit with acute range problems, as the turbine used fuel rapidly, even at engine idle. (Morozov's subsequent parallel development of the T-80UD replaced the gas turbine with a commercial turbo-diesel, to decrease fuel use and maintenance needs.) In comparison to its anticipated opponent, the American M1 Abrams has a larger, 1,500 hp (1,120 kW), gas turbine, but weighs 61 tons compared to the T-80s 42.6 tons, so it has a worse hp/t ratio of 24.5 compared to 27.1 and is less maneuverable than the T-80 (with GT).[citation needed] The T-80 can fire the same 9K112 Kobra (AT-8 Songster) anti-tank guided missile through the main gun as the T-64.

The T-80U main battle tank (1985, "U" for uluchsheniye, meaning "improvement") was designed by SKB-2 in Leningrad (hull) and the Morozov Bureau (turret and armament). It is a further development of the T-80A and is powered by the 1,250 hp (919 kW) GTD-1250 gas turbine. It is a step ahead of the GTD-1000T and GTD-1000TF engines that were installed on the previous tanks of the T-80 line. This gas turbine can use jet fuels, diesel, and low-octane gasoline, and has good dynamic stability, service life, and reliability.[citation needed] The GTD-1250 has a built-in automatic system of dust deposit removal. It retains the T-80s high fuel use, which the Russian army found unacceptable during the First Chechen War. It is equipped with the 2A46 fire control system and a new turret. The T-80U is protected by a second generation of explosive reactive armour called Kontakt-5, which can reduce the penetration of armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds, such as the M829A1 "Silver Bullet", by 38%, and of high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds.[25] Kontakt-5 had been developed as a response to the threat of modern APFSDS spurred by testing that found that the Israeli 105mm M111 APFSDS ammunition could defeat the glacis armour of the latest models of the T-72 and T-80

The Kontakt-5 is integrated into the design of the turret, hull, and Brod-M deep wading equipment. Like all of the previous T-80 models, the T-80U has full length rubber side skirts protecting the sides with those above the first three road wheels being armoured and are provided with lifting handles. It can fire the 9M119 Refleks (AT-11 Sniper) guided missile and the long-rod penetrator (HVAPFSDS) 3BM46.[citation needed] The remotely controlled commander's machine gun was replaced by a more flexible pintle-mounted one. A special camouflage paint distorts the tank's appearance in the visible and IR wavebands.[citation needed] The T-80U's 1A46 fire control system includes a laser range finder, a ballistics computer, and a more advanced 1G46 gunner's main sights, which greatly increases the T-80Us firepower over previous models. These new systems, together with the 125 mm D-81TM "Rapira-3" smooth bore gun, ensure that the T-80U can hit targets at a range of up to 5 kilometers (ATGMs and HV/APFSDS).[citation needed] An experienced crew at the international exhibition was able to successfully strike 52 targets without a miss at a distance of 5 km using guided rockets.[27][unreliable source?]
The T-80U(M) of the 1990s introduced the TO1-PO2 Agava gunner's thermal imaging sight and 9M119M Refleks-M guided missile, and later, an improved 2A46M-4 version of the 125 mm gun and 1G46M gunner's sight was used.
Russian tank production faltered in the years before and after the breakup of the Soviet Union. At the two remaining Russian tank plants, state orders all but ceased. Omsk, then the only Russian producer of the T-80, received orders for just five T-80Us in 1992. Around the same time, the Russian Ministry of Defense decided it would commit to eventually producing one tank type only. Though both Nizhni-Tagil's T-90 and Omsk's T-80U had their merits, the T-80 was notorious for its high fuel use and production cost. Also, Russian T-80BVs suffered appalling losses in their first combat use during the First Chechen War. T-90s, which were not deployed to Chechnya, were spared media criticism despite the similarly poor performance of the T-72 (the T-90's not-so-different ancestor) in the same conflict. In January 1996, Colonel General Aleksandr Galkin, chief of Main Armour Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense, said the Russian Armed Forces would phase out T-80 production in favor of the T-90 (Galkin reversed his position later that year, claiming the T-80U was a superior tank). Production of the T-80 at Omsk persisted until 2001, mainly for the export market.[6] In September 2023, the CEO of Uralvagonzavod, Alexander Potapov, said that they had been tasked by the military to resume manufacture of the T-80. It is unknown how long the process of restarting the production line will take.[14]
Ukrainian T-80UD
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In parallel with the T-80U and Russia in general, the Morozov Bureau in Ukraine developed a diesel-powered version, the T-80UD. It is powered by the 1,000 hp 6TD-6-cylinder opposed-piston[28] multi-fuel two-stroke turbo-piston diesel engine, ensuring high fuel efficiency and a long cruising range. The engine support systems make it possible to operate the tank at ambient temperatures of up to 55 °C and ford water obstacles 1.8 m in depth. The T-80UD shares most of the T-80U's improvements, but can be distinguished from it by a different engine deck and distinctive smoke-mortar array and turret stowage boxes. It retains the remotely-controlled commander's machine gun. About 500 T-80UD tanks were built in the Malyshev plant between 1987 and 1991. About 300 were still at the Ukrainian factory when the Soviet Union broke up, so the T-80UD tank was welcomed into Ukrainian military service, and therefore is more common in Ukrainian service than Russian. Unlike Russia, Ukraine has had much better success selling T-80s to foreign customers. Cyprus bought a number of T-80Us and T-80UKs from Russia for its army. Pakistan bought Ukrainian T-80UDs for the Pakistan Armoured Corps.[29]
The Ukrainian T-84 main battle tank is based on the T-80UD. Ukraine was only able to afford a negligible number of T-84s for its own use, but did market the tank for export. The T-84 Oplot (first delivered in 2001) introduced turret-bustle ammunition storage; and to offer more sales to international market, the T-84-120 Yatagan has been offered for export, featuring a very large turret bustle and NATO-compatible 120 mm gun

In 1989, there were 3,000 T-80 MBTs overall.[31] According to data published in Russia, 2,256 T-80s (up to the T-80BV model, as T-80Us were never deployed in Europe) were stationed with the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany in East Germany between 1986 and 1987. In 1991, when the Soviet Union was breaking up, the Soviet Army operated 4,839 T-80 MBTs of several different models.[32]
In August 1991, communists and allied military commanders tried to overthrow Mikhail Gorbachev and regain control over the unstable Soviet Union. T-80UD tanks of the 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 crowd or the parliament

Before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the T-80 was not used in the way in which it was intended (large-scale conventional war in Europe). Until 2022, it was deployed amid the political and economic turmoil in Russia during the 1990s.
Most T-80 MBTs are possessed by Russia, though many were inherited by Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
In 1995, the number of T-80 tanks increased to around 5,000 but shrank to 3,500 in 1998.
The Russian Army had 3,044 T-80s and variants in active service and 1,456 in reserve as of 2008.[32][35] There are at least 460 T-80U in service with the 2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division and 4th Guards Kantemirowsk Motor Rifle Division.[36] A T-80BV is on display in Kubinka Tank Museum and a T-80U is on display at an open-air museum in Saratov. The T-80Us have recently been seen at arms expos in Russia such as VTTV.
During the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, Boris Yeltsin ordered the use of tanks against the Supreme Soviet and the Congress of People's Deputies opposing him. On 4 October 1993, six T-80UDs from the 13th Guards Tank Regiment, 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division took positions on a bridge opposite the Russian parliament building, and fired on it.
First Chechen War
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Neither the T-80B nor the T-80BV were ever used in the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s in order to keep the tank's characteristics a secret, but they were first used during the First Chechen War. This first real combat experience for T-80 was unsuccessful, as the tanks were used to capture cities, a task for which they were not very well suited, in particular due to the low depression and elevation of the 2A46-M1 gun on all Russian MBTs.
The biggest tank losses were incurred during the ill-fated assault in the Battle of Grozny, which began in December 1994. During three months of combat, Russia lost 18 of the 84 T-80 tanks used by the 133rd and 3rd Tank Battalions.[37] The forces chosen to capture Grozny were not prepared for such an operation, while the city was defended by, among others, former Soviet soldiers. Some T-80 tanks used in the assault lacked explosive reactive armour inserts.[38]
Several tank-to-tank battles were recorded. During the fighting in late December 1994 and early January 1995, Russian T-80 tanks destroyed at least six rebel tanks. On the opposing side, one T-80 was disabled by a 125 mm shell.[39] Another T-80 received three or four tank shell hits but remained in service.[40][41] In August 1996, a T-80 destroyed one rebel tank.[39]
The inexperienced crews had little knowledge of the layout of the city, while the tanks were attacked by rocket-propelled grenade teams hidden in cellars and on top of high buildings. The anti-tank fire was directed at the least armoured parts of the vehicles.[42]
In the buildup of forces before the assault on Grozny, T-80s had been transferred from depots to units with little experience with the tank. When no auxiliary power unit is equipped, the T-80's gas turbine engines use almost as much fuel idling as when they are running. Most tank crews inadvertently exhausted their fuel this way on the day of the assault.[38][22]
After the First Chechen War
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The T-80 performed so poorly in the First Chechen War that after the conflict, General-Lieutenant Aleksandr Galkin, head of the Armour Directorate, convinced the Minister of Defence to never again procure tanks with gas turbine engines[43] (Galkin reversed his position in 1996, claiming that the T-80U was superior to the T-90).[6] After that, T-80 MBTs were never again used to capture cities, and instead, supported infantry squads from a safe distance. Defenders of the T-80 explain that the T-72 performed just as badly in urban fighting in Grozny as the T-80 and that there were two aggravating factors: after the breakup of the Soviet Union, poor funding meant no training for new Russian tank crews, and the tank force entering the city had no infantry support.[36]
Russia did not deploy T-80 tanks in later conflicts such as the 1999 Second Chechen War, the 2008 Russo-Georgian War,[44] or the post-2014 Russo-Ukrainian War[45] until the full scale invasion in 2022.
Russian invasion of Ukraine
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During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces used T-80 tanks alongside T-72s and T-90s. Some were outfitted with improvised steel grilles on top of turrets, nicknamed "cope cages″ by Internet users.[46] These were reportedly installed to counter top-attack munitions such as the FGM-148 Javelin and loitering munitions; later into the war the cages were left on and refitted onto more tanks after drone dropped munitions became increasingly prevalent on the battlefield.[47][48]
According to the open source intelligence website Oryx, as of July 2025, at least 1,193 Russian T-80s of multiple variants have been visually confirmed as destroyed, damaged, abandoned, or captured. Of these, 4 are T-80Bs, 690 T-80BV, 4 T-80BVK, 109 T-80BV Obr. 2022, 104 T-80U, 2 T-80UK, 8 T-80UE-1, 1 T-80UM2, 144 T-80BVM, 84 T-80BVM Obr. 2022, and the remaining 43 are unknown variants. Conversely, 81 T-80BVs and 1 T-80UD in service with the Armed forces of Ukraine have been destroyed, damaged, or captured.[49]
Exports
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United Kingdom
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In 1992, the United Kingdom bought a number of T-80U MBTs for defence research and development. They were not bought officially but through a specially created trading company, which was supposed to deliver them to Morocco. The price of $5 million offered for each tank ensured a lack of suspicion on the part of the Russians.[why?] The UK evaluated the tanks on its proving grounds and transferred one to the US where the Americans evaluated it at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. In January 1994, British Minister of State for Defence Procurement Jonathan Aitken confirmed in parliamentary debates that a Russian T-80U tank was imported for "defence research and development purposes".

In 1991, South Korea lent $1.47 billion to the Soviet Union under the agreement to promote economic cooperation between the two nations. Russia originally agreed to repay the loan by 1999, but the Russian government requested a delay due to its own circumstances, which led the expected accumulated sum of principal and interest to near $3 billion. Therefore, South Korea launched Project Brown Bear to collect the debt by purchasing the Russian weapons at a 50% discounted price, with the other 50% covered by the Russian government.[52]
As a result, South Korea purchased 33 T-80Us under Brown Bear I, six in 1996 and 27 in 1997, and two T-80Us under Brown Bear II in 2005. Although some domestic media claimed the acquisition of two T-80UKs instead of T-80Us, South Korean officials never confirmed this. They also denied Russian media claims of buying 140 T-80U and T-80UKs, calling it false information to promote a Russian defense exhibition.[53][54][55][56]
When South Korea first acquired the T-80 in the late 1990s, it was the most powerful tank on the Korean Peninsula, superior to the domestic K1 88-Tank in having a larger 125 mm gun to the K1's 105 mm. However, as time went on, the K1 was upgraded into the K1A1 and the more advanced K2 Black Panther entered service, while the T-80 changed little since its delivery due to the foreign nature of the design and lack of will to add domestic upgrades. While the South Korean tanks use domestically manufactured ammunition, T-80 shells and most parts must be imported, increasing maintenance costs as the cost of ordering replacement parts kept rising steadily. Although the turbine engine is lighter with better acceleration, it uses more fuel and is less reliable. The interior has been criticized as cramped and gunnery was underperforming via less advanced sights and slower reload speed.[57]
On 21 November 2024, South Korea used two T-80Us as experiments and destroyed them with various types of drone strikes,[58][59] despite calls to transfer the weapons to Ukraine after they were invaded by Russia.[60]
Pakistan
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Ukrainian exports of the T-80UD have been moderately successful. In 1993 and 1995, Ukraine demonstrated the tank to Pakistan, which was looking for a new main battle tank. The tank was tested in Pakistan and in August 1996 Pakistan decided to buy 320 T-80UD tanks from Ukraine for $650 million in two variants: a standard Object 478B and export Object 478BE.[53][61][62] The tanks were all supposed to be delivered in 1997. After the first batch of 15 vehicles had been shipped in February 1997, Russia protested that it held the rights to the tank and that Ukraine could not export it.[53] Nearly 70% of T-80UD components were produced outside of Ukraine (mainly in Russia). Under the guise of keeping good relations with India, one of its most important military customers, Russia withheld 2A46-2 125 mm smoothbore guns, cast turrets and other technology, which forced Ukraine to make its tank industry independent.[62] It developed domestic components, including a welded turret, which was in use on the new Ukrainian T-84. Ukraine was able to ship 20 more T-80UD tanks to Pakistan between February and May 1997.[53] These 35 tanks were from Ukrainian Army stocks of 52 T-80UDs; they were built in the Malyshev plant several years before but were not delivered to their original destination. Their abilities were below the standard agreed by both Ukraine and Pakistan.[citation needed] The contract was completed by shipping another 285 Ukrainian T-80UD MBTs between 1997 and early 2002. These had the welded turret and other manufacturing features of the T-84.