Its combat history has been marred, to say the least.
The video was no April Fools joke, however.
The T-80 is thus much like the B-1.
During the Cold War, spy photos and other clandestine intelligence gathering provided insight into the capabilities of the T-80 main battle tank. Image: NARA
It was both a move forward, but not entirely the right tool for the job.
The biggest issue was that the T-80 consumed fuel at a disturbing rate.
The differences created operational and logistic problems for the Soviet military in the 1980s.
The T-80BVM is an upgraded version of the T-80BV main battle tank intended for Russian forces above the Arctic Circle. Multiple reports state the tanks have been used in Ukraine. Image: U.S. Army
[Be sure to read:Russian T-72: Most Destroyed Modern Tank in History?]
None of the major components are interchangeable.
Even lessons in Budapest in 1956 were long forgotten.
First published in a May 1984 issue of the magazine “Soviet Military Power”, this photograph shows a Red Army T-80 tank. Image: NARA
During the Battle of Grozny in December 1994, Russia lost 18 of the 84 T-80 tanks engaged.
Designed to be fast, an SG-1000 gas turbine engine propelled the T-80B.
Prior to the Battle of Grozny, many tank crews exhausted their fuel while waiting to make the assault.
The T-80 was based on the T-64 tank. Shown above is a T-64 tank of the Soviet Union’s 21st Guards Motorized Rifle Division in East Germany. Image: Ashot Pogosyants/CC BY-SA 3.0
Facing Reality
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
That explains why the T-80 is again being deployed in combat operations.
The Malyshev plant in Kharkiv built about 500 T-80UD between 1987 and 1991.
A Ukrainian T-80 BV tank during live fire training in an amphibious assault exercise. Image: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine/CC BY-SA 2.0
When retired around 2005, 271 were still in Ukrainian service.
After the Russian invasion, Ukraines Airborne forces refurbished up to 100 of the tanks.
By 2022, most Ukrainian airborne regiments fielded an independent company of T-80 tanks.
A T-80BVM tank passes during a general rehearsal of the military parade in Murmansk, Russia. Image: Андрей Лузик/CC BY 4.0
The T-80 hasnt proved itself in battle, but its legacy could still be reformed.
In his Art of War, Sun Tzu advised, Know thy self, know thy enemy.
A thousand battles, a thousand victories, said Adams-Graf.
Ukrainian soldiers maneuver theirT-84 tankat the defensive operations lane during the Strong Europe Tank Challenge, June 6, 2018. Image: Markus Rauchenberger/U.S. Army
In the case of the T-80, Ukraine knows its enemy.
Time will tell if they realize their victories.
A Russian T-80 BVM in training. Image: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation/CC BY 4.0
T-80U tanks of the 4th Guard Tank Division in training maneuvers during 2016. Image: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation/CC BY 4.0
Russian T-80U tanks in a column during a 2016 training exercise. Image: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation/CC BY 4.0
As part of a debt repayment, Russia sent 35 T-80 tanks (U and UK models) to the Republic of Korea (South Korea.) Image: 박종훈/CC BY 3.0
Ukrainian 93rd “Kholodnyi Yar” Mechanized Brigade tankers employ a captured Russian T-80BVM tank. Image: Ukraine Ministry of Defense/CC BY 4.0
One of many Russian T-80 tanks destroyed during the Russo-Ukrainian War. Image: Ukraine Ministry of Defense/CC BY 4.0
