T-80 Main Battle Tank
The T-80 retains the low silhouette of the earlier Russian
tanks. The suspension consists of six forged steel-aluminum rubber-tired road
wheels, drive sprocket at the rear, idler at the front, and five return road
wheels. The rubber-tired road wheels are in two halves that are bolted together.
The road wheel spacing is not identical and there are distinct gaps between the
second and third, fourth and fifth, and fifth and sixth road wheels. The side
skirt covers the return rollers. The rubber-bushed, double-pin track has rubber
track pads and U-shaped track guides. The T-80 has a distinct oblong exhaust
outlet in the hull rear. The driver's hatch is centered at the top of a sharply
sloped upper glacis. Integrated fuel cells and stowage containers give a
streamlined appearance to the fenders. The tank has a toothed shovel/dozer blade
on the front of the hull beneath the glacis. There are attachment points beneath
the blade for the KMT-6 mine-clearing plow. The low, rounded turret is centered
on the hull. The commander's cupola is on the right side of the turret, the
gunner's hatch is on the left side. The 125-mm main gun has a four section
removable thermal shield. It has two sections in front of, and
two sections to
the rear of the mid-tube bore evacuator. A 7.62-mm coaxial machine-gun is
mounted to the right of the mantlet. The infra-red searchlight is mounted on the
right of the main armament. Banks of electrically operated smoke dischargers are
mounted either side of the 125-mm gun/missile launcher, normally five on the
left and four on the right. The T-80 has a GTD-1000 gas-turbine engine
developing 1100 hp coupled to a manual transmission with five forward and one
reverse gears. This is the first former Soviet operational tank to be powered by
a gas-turhorns. The glacis plate is of the laminate type for improved protection
against kinetic energy and HEAT attack and there is a dozer blade under the nose
of the vehicle. The turret is steel with an inner layer of special armor; the
gunner sits on the left and the tank commander on the right. The T-80 MBT uses
the same 125-mm gun and horizontal ammunition system as the T-72 whereas the
T-64 uses a 125-mm 2A26 gun with vertical ammunition stowage. The fire control
system is an improvement over that fitted to earlier former Soviet tanks. This
tank can fire either the AT-8
Songster ATGM or four types of separate loading ammunition, e.g., projectile
and semi-combustible cartridge case. These four rounds are HE-FRAG (FS),
HEAT-FS, APFSDS-T and Flechette. A total of six AT-8 Songster ATGMs are carried
and these are identical to those launched by the T-64B MBT deployed some years
ago. A 7.62-mm PKT machine gun is mounted coaxially to the right of the main
armament and a 12.7-mm NSV machine gun is mounted on the commander's cupola. To
extend the operational range of the T-80, additional fuel tanks can be mounted
at the hull rear. These can be quickly jettisoned if required. Standard
equipment includes snorkels for deep fording operations that are carried on the
turret rear when not required, an overpressure type NBC protection system, night
vision equipment for all three crew members, unditching beam carried across the
hull rear and a laser warning device activated by laser rangefinders, laser
designators or precision-guided munitions fitted with a laser guidance device.
Mounted on the turret rear is a large circular container that carries two
snorkels. The larger one is the snorkel for the gas-turbine, with another one
being fitted onto the radiator grill by means of two adapters. This provides an
air intake for the gas-turbine.
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|
Specifications |
|
| Crew: | 3 (commander, driver, gunner) |
| Introduced: | early 1980s |
| Length: | 9.20 m |
| Width: | 3.60 m |
| Height: | 2.30 m |
| Weight: | 42.0 tons |
| Engine: | V-12 1200 hp gas turbine |
| Max road speed: | 60 km/h |
| Fuel capacity: | 1000 liters |
| Road range: | 350 km (500 km with auxiliary fuel tanks) |
| Trench crossing: | 2.70 m |
| Vertical step: | 0.80 m |
| Max gradient: | 30° |
| Fording | 5.5 m with snorkel |
|
Armament |
|
| Gun caliber: | 115 mm |
| Elevation: | -5° - +18° |
| Rate of fire: | 6-8 rounds per minute |
| Ammo types: |
|
| Max range: | 20000+ m |
| Effective range: | 2000 m |
| Basic load: | 40 rounds |
| Secondary armament: |
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