Thirty-five years ago, on July 6, 1976, the T-80 main battle tank (MBT) was adopted by the Soviet army. Currently, in the Western Military District (ZVO) MBT T-80 is in service with a tank brigade, 4 motorized rifle brigades, and is also used to train personnel in the district training center, as well as cadets and officers in military universities and academies. In total, the ZVO has more than 1,800 T-80 tanks and its modifications, the Information Support Group of the Western Military District reported.
The combat vehicle was created in a special design bureau (SKB) of transport engineering at the Leningrad Kirov plant by a group of designers led by Nikolai Popov. The first series of T-80 tanks was produced in 1976-1978. The main feature of the T-80 was the gas turbine engine, which was used as the power plant of the tank. Some of its modifications are equipped with diesel engines. The T-80 tank and its modifications are distinguished by a high speed of movement (up to 80 km / h with a crew of 3). T-80 took part in hostilities in the North Caucasus. It is in service with the ground forces of Russia, Cyprus, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea and Ukraine.
Tank T-80 - designed for offensive and defensive battles in various physical, geographical and weather and climatic conditions. For effective destruction of the enemy, the T-80 is armed with a 125-mm smooth-bore cannon stabilized in two planes and a 7.62-mm PKT machine gun paired with it; 12, 7-mm anti-aircraft machine-gun complex "Utes" on the commander's cupola. To protect against guided weapons, the Tucha smoke grenade launcher is installed on the tank. The T-80B tanks are equipped with the 9K112-1 "Cobra" ATGM complex, and the T-80U tanks are equipped with the 9K119 "Reflex" ATGM. The loading mechanism is similar to that of the T-64 tank.
The T-80B fire control system includes a laser sight-rangefinder, a ballistic computer, an armament stabilizer and a set of sensors for monitoring wind speed, roll and tank speed, target heading angle, etc. Fire control on the T-80U is duplicated. The gun is made with stringent requirements for the barrel, which is equipped with a metal heat-shielding casing to protect against external influences and reduce deflection when heated. The combat weight of the tank is 42 tons.
The smoothbore gun with a caliber of 125 mm ensures the destruction of targets at a distance of up to 5 km. Ammunition of the tank: rounds - 45 (such as BPS, BCS, OFS, guided missile). Combined armor protection. A multi-fuel GTD-1000T with a capacity of 1000 kW is used as a power plant. The cruising range on the highway is 500 km, the depth of the water obstacle to be overcome is 5 m.
Main tank T-80
the USSR
When Defense Minister of the Syrian Arab Republic Mustafa Glas, who led the Syrian army in Lebanon in 1981-82, a correspondent for Spiegel magazine asked: “The former Glas tank driver would like to have the German Leopard 2, which Saudi Arabia is so eager to get. ? ", the minister replied:" …. I do not strive to have it at any cost. The Soviet T-80 is Moscow's answer to Leopard 2. It is not only equal to the German vehicle, but also significantly superior to it. As a soldier and tank specialist, I I think the T-80 is the best tank in the world. " The T-80, the world's first serial tank with a single gas turbine power plant, began to be developed at the Leningrad SKB-2 of the Kirov plant in 1968. However, the history of domestic gas turbine tank building began much earlier. GTE, which won an absolute victory over piston engines in military aviation in the 1940s. began to attract the attention and creators of tanks. The new type of power plant promised very solid advantages over a diesel or a gasoline engine: with the same volume occupied, the gas turbine had significantly more power, which made it possible to dramatically increase the speed and acceleration characteristics of combat vehicles, and improve tank control. Fast engine start-up at low temperatures was also reliably ensured. For the first time, the idea of a gas turbine combat vehicle originated in the Main Armored Directorate of the USSR Ministry of Defense back in 1948.
The development of the project of a heavy tank with a gas turbine engine was completed under the leadership of the chief designer A. Kh. Starostenko in the SKB turbine production of the Kirov plant in 1949. However, this tank remained on paper: an authoritative commission that analyzed the results of the design studies came to the conclusion that the proposed vehicle did not meet a number of important requirements. In 1955, our country again returned to the idea of a tank with a gas turbine engine, and again the Kirov Plant took up this work, which was commissioned on a competitive basis to create a new generation heavy tank - the world's most powerful combat vehicle weighing 52-55 tons, armed with 130 mm a gun with an initial projectile speed of 1000 m / s and a 1000 hp engine. It was decided to develop two versions of the tank: with a diesel engine (object 277) and with a gas turbine engine (object 278), differing only in the engine compartment. The work was headed by N. M. Chistyakov. In the same 1955, under the leadership of G. A. Ogloblin, the creation of a gas turbine engine for this machine began. An increase in interest in tracked gas turbine technology was also facilitated by a meeting on this topic, held by Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers V. A. Malyshev in 1956. The famous "tank people's commissar", in particular, expressed confidence that "in twenty years GTEs will appear on ground transport vehicles."
In 1956-57. Leningraders for the first time manufactured two prototype GTD-1 tank gas turbine engines with a maximum power of 1000 hp. The GTE was supposed to provide a tank with a mass of 53.5 tons the ability to develop a very solid speed - 57.3 km / h. However, the gas turbine tank never came into being, largely due to subjective reasons known in history as "voluntarism": two diesel objects 277, released a little earlier than their gas turbine counterpart, in 1957, successfully passed factory tests, and soon one of them was shown to N. S. Khrushchev. The show had very negative consequences: Khrushchev, who took a course to abandon traditional weapons systems, was very skeptical about the new combat vehicle. As a result, in 1960, all work on heavy tanks was curtailed, and the prototype of Object 278 was never completed. However, there were also objective reasons that impeded the introduction of GTE at that time. Unlike a diesel engine, a tank gas turbine was still far from perfect, and it took years of hard work and many experimental "objects" for two and a half decades ironing out landfills and tracks before the GTE could finally "register" on a serial tank.
In 1963, in Kharkov, under the leadership of A. A. Morozov, simultaneously with the T-64 medium tank, its gas turbine modification, the experimental T-64T, was created, which differs from its diesel counterpart by the installation of a helicopter gas turbine engine GTD-ZTL with a capacity of 700 hp. In 1964, an experimental object 167T with a GTD-3T (800 hp), developed under the leadership of L. N. Kartsev, came out of the gates of the Uralvagonzavod in Nizhny Tagil. The designers of the first gas turbine tanks faced a number of intractable problems that did not allow the creation of a combat-ready tank with a gas turbine engine in the 1960s. Among the most difficult tasks.requiring the search for new solutions, the issues of cleaning the air at the turbine inlet were highlighted: unlike a helicopter, whose engines suck in dust, and even then in relatively small quantities, only in takeoff and landing modes, a tank (for example, marching in a convoy) can constantly move in a dust cloud, passing through the air intake 5-6 cubic meters of air per second. The gas turbine also attracted the attention of the creators of a fundamentally new class of combat vehicles - missile tanks, which have been actively developed in the USSR since the late 1950s.
This is not surprising: after all, according to the designers, one of the main advantages of such machines was increased mobility and reduced size. In 1966, an experimental object 288, created in Leningrad and equipped with two GTE-350 with a total capacity of 700 hp, entered the tests. The power plant of this machine was created in another Leningrad collective - the aircraft building NPO im. V. Ya. Klimov, who by that time had extensive experience in creating turboprop and turboshaft engines for aircraft and helicopters. However, during the tests it was revealed that the "twin" of two gas turbine engines does not have any advantages over the simpler monoblock power plant, the creation of which, in accordance with the government decision, the "Klimovtsy", together with KB-3 of the Kirov plant and VNIITransmash, began 1968 year. By the end of the 1960s, the Soviet army had the most advanced armored vehicles for its time.
The T-64 medium tank, which was put into service in 1967, significantly surpassed its foreign counterparts - M-60A1, Leopard and Chieftain in terms of basic combat performance. However, since 1965, the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany have launched joint work on the creation of a new generation main battle tank - the MVT-70, characterized by increased mobility, enhanced armament (a 155 mm Schileila ATGM launcher) and armor. The Soviet tank-building industry needed an adequate response to the NATO challenge. On April 16, 1968, a joint decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR was issued, in accordance with which SKB-2 at the Kirov plant was tasked to develop a version of the T-64 medium tank with a gas turbine power plant, characterized by increased combat characteristics. The first "Kirov" gas turbine tank of the new generation, object 219sp1, manufactured in 1969, was outwardly similar to the experienced Kharkov gas turbine T-64T.
The machine was equipped with a GTD-1000T engine with a capacity of 1000 hp. with., developed by the NGO. V. Ya. Klimov. The next object - 219sp2 - was already significantly different from the original T-64: tests of the first prototype showed that the installation of a new, more powerful engine, increased weight and changed dynamic characteristics of the tank require significant changes to the chassis. The development of new drive and guide wheels, support and support rollers, tracks with rubberized treadmills, hydraulic shock absorbers and torsion shafts with improved characteristics was required. The shape of the tower was also changed. A cannon, ammunition, an automatic loader, individual components and systems, as well as elements of body armor have been preserved from the T-64A. After the construction and testing of several experimental vehicles, which took about seven years, on July 6, 1976, the new tank was officially adopted under the designation T-80. In 1976-78, the production association "Kirovsky Zavod" produced a series of "eighties", which entered the troops.
Like other Russian tanks of the 1960s and 70s. - T-64 and T-72, T-80 has a classic layout and a crew of three. Instead of one viewing device, the driver has three, which has significantly improved visibility. The designers also provided for the heating of the driver's workplace with air taken from the GTE compressor. The body of the machine is welded, its frontal part has an inclination angle of 68 °, the tower is cast. The frontal parts of the hull and turret are equipped with multi-layer combined armor, combining steel and ceramics. The rest of the hull is made of monolithic steel armor with a large differentiation of thicknesses and angles of inclination. There is a complex of protection against weapons of mass destruction (lining, overhead, sealing and air purification system). The layout of the T-80's fighting compartment is generally similar to the layout adopted on the T-64B. The motoblock in the aft part of the tank hull is located longitudinally, which required some increase in the length of the vehicle compared to the T-64. The engine is made in a single block with a total weight of 1050 kg with a built-in reduction bevel-helical gearbox and is kinematically connected to two onboard planetary gearboxes. The engine compartment has four fuel tanks with a capacity of 385 liters each (the total fuel reserve in the booked volume was 1140 liters). GTD-1000T is made according to a three-shaft scheme, with two independent turbochargers and a free turbine. The variable turbine nozzle (PCA) limits the turbine speed and prevents "runaway" when changing gears. The lack of a mechanical connection between the power turbine and turbochargers increased the tank's passability on soils with low bearing capacity, in difficult driving conditions, and also eliminated the possibility of engine stalling when the vehicle suddenly stopped with the gear engaged.
An important advantage of the gas turbine power plant is its multi-fuel capacity. The engine is operated on jet fuels TS-1 and TS-2, diesel fuels and low-octane automobile gasolines. The process of starting up the gas turbine engine is automated, the spinning of the compressor rotors is carried out using two electric motors. Due to the exhaust backward, as well as the inherent low noise of the turbine in comparison with the diesel engine, it was possible to somewhat reduce the acoustic signature of the tank. The features of the T-80 include the first implemented combined braking system with the simultaneous use of a gas turbine engine and mechanical hydraulic brakes. The adjustable turbine nozzle allows you to change the direction of the gas flow, forcing the blades to rotate in the opposite direction (of course, this puts a heavy load on the power turbine, which required special measures to protect it). The process of braking the tank is as follows: when the driver presses the brake pedal, braking begins by means of the turbine.
When the pedal is recessed further, the mechanical braking devices are also activated. The GTE of the T-80 tank uses an automatic control system for the engine operation mode (ACS), which includes temperature sensors located in front of and behind the power turbine, a temperature controller (RT), as well as limit switches installed under the brake pedals and PCA associated with RT and fuel supply system. The use of the automatic control system made it possible to increase the resource of the turbine blades by more than 10 times, and with frequent use of the brake and the PCA pedal to change gears (which occurs while the tank is moving over rough terrain), the fuel consumption is reduced by 5-7%. To protect the turbine from dust, an inertial (so-called "cyclonic") method of air purification is used, which provides 97% purification. However, unfiltered dust particles still settle on the turbine blades. To remove them when the tank is moving in especially difficult conditions, a vibration cleaning procedure is provided for the blades. In addition, a purge is performed before starting the engine and after stopping it. Transmission T-80 - mechanical planetary. It consists of two units, each of which includes an onboard gearbox, final drive and hydraulic servo drives for the motion control system. Three planetary gear sets and five frictional controls in each side box provide four forward and one reverse gears. Track rollers have rubber tires and aluminum alloy discs. Tracks - with rubber treadmills and rubber-metal hinges.
Tensioning mechanisms are of the worm type. The suspension of the tank is an individual torsion bar, with a misaligned arrangement of torsion shafts and hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers on the first, second and sixth rollers. There is equipment for underwater driving, which provides, after special training, overcoming water obstacles up to five meters deep. The main armament of the T-80 includes a 125-mm smooth-bore cannon 2A46M-1, unified with the T-64 and T-72 tanks, as well as with the Sprut self-propelled anti-tank gun. The cannon is stabilized in two planes and has a direct firing range (with a sub-caliber projectile with an initial velocity of 1715 m / s) of 2100 m. The ammunition also includes cumulative and high-explosive fragmentation projectiles. The shots are of separate-case loading. 28 of them (two less than that of the T-64A) are housed in a mechanized ammunition "carousel", three rounds are stored in the fighting compartment and seven more shells and charges in the control compartment. In addition to the cannon, a 7.62 mm PKT machine gun was installed on the prototypes, and a 12.7 mm NSVT Utes anti-aircraft machine gun was also installed on the serial tank on the basis of the commander's hatch.
The commander is firing from it, being at this time outside the booked volume. The firing range for air targets from the "Cliff" can reach 1500 m, and 2000 m for ground targets. The mechanized ammunition stowage is located along the perimeter of the fighting compartment, the habitable part of which is made in the form of a cabin separating it from the ammunition stowage conveyor. The shells are placed horizontally in the tray, with their "heads" to the axis of rotation. Propellant charges with a partially burnt sleeve are installed vertically, pallets upward (this distinguishes the mechanized ammo rack of T-64 and T-80 tanks from the T-72 and T-90 ammunition rack, where shells and charges are placed horizontally in cassettes). At the command of the gunner, the "drum" begins to rotate, bringing the cartridge with the selected type of ammunition into the loading plane. Then the cassette along a special guide with the help of an electromechanical lift rises up to the dispensing line, after which the charge and the projectile are pushed into the charging chamber fixed at the gun loading angle with one stroke of the rammer. After the shot, the pallet is caught by a special mechanism and transferred to the vacated tray. Provides a rate of fire of six to eight rounds per minute, which is very high for a gun of this caliber and does not depend on the physical condition of the loader (which significantly affects the rate of fire of foreign tanks). In the event of a breakdown of the machine, you can also load it manually, however, the rate of fire, of course, decreases sharply. Optical stereoscopic sight-rangefinder TPD-2-49 with independent stabilization of the field of view in the vertical plane provides the ability to accurately determine the range to the target within 1000-4000 m.
For determining shorter ranges, as well as shooting at targets that do not have a vertical projection (for example, trenches), there is a rangefinder scale in the sight's field of view. Target range data is automatically entered into the scope. Also, a correction for the speed of movement of the tank and data on the type of the selected projectile are automatically entered. In one block with a sight, a weapon pointing control panel with buttons for determining the range and firing is made. The night sights of the commander and gunner of the T-80 are similar to those used on the T-64A. The tank has a welded hull, the frontal part of which is inclined at an angle of 68 °. The tower is cast. The sides of the hull are protected by rubber-fabric screens that protect against being hit by cumulative projectiles. The frontal part of the hull has a multi-layer combined armor, the rest of the tank is protected by monolithic steel armor with differentiated thicknesses and angles of inclination. In 1978, a modification of the T-80B was adopted. Its fundamental difference from the T-80 was the use of a new cannon and a 9K112-1 "Cobra" guided missile system with a 9M112 radio-controlled missile. The complex included a guidance station installed in the fighting compartment of the vehicle, behind the gunner's back. "Cobra" provided missile firing at a range of up to 4 km from the spot and on the move, while the probability of hitting an armored target was 0.8.
The missile had dimensions corresponding to the dimensions of a 125-mm projectile and could be placed in any tray of a mechanized ammunition rack. At the head of the ATGM there was a cumulative warhead and a solid-propellant engine, in the tail - a hardware compartment and a throwing device. The docking of parts of the ATGM was carried out in the tray of the loading mechanism when it was fed into the barrel of the gun. The missile guidance is semi-automatic: the gunner only needed to keep the aiming mark on the target. The coordinates of the ATGM relative to the aiming line were determined by means of an optical system using a modulated light source installed on the rocket, and control commands were transmitted along a narrowly directed radio beam. Depending on the combat situation, it was possible to select three rocket flight modes. When firing from dusty grounds, when dust raised by muzzle gases can close the target, the gun is given a small elevation angle above the aiming line. After the missile leaves the barrel, it makes a "slide" and returns to the line of sight. If there is a threat of a dusty plume forming behind the rocket, unmasking its flight, the ATGM, after climbing, continues to fly with some excess over the line of sight and, only immediately in front of the target, drops to a low altitude. When firing a rocket at a short range (up to 1000 km), when the target suddenly appears in front of a tank whose gun is already loaded with a rocket, a small elevation angle is automatically given to the gun barrel, and the ATGM is lowered to the sighting line after 80-100 m from the tank.
In addition to improved weapons, the T-80B also had more powerful armor protection. In 1980, the T-80B received a new GTD-1000TF engine, the power of which increased to 1100 hp. with. In 1985, a modification of the T-80B with a complex of mounted dynamic protection was adopted. The vehicle received the designation T-80BV. A little later, in the process of planned repairs, the installation of dynamic protection began on the previously built T-80B. The growth of the combat capabilities of foreign tanks, as well as anti-tank weapons, constantly demanded further improvement of the "80". Work on the development of this machine was carried out both in Leningrad and in Kharkov. Back in 1976, on the basis of the T-80, a preliminary design of object 478 was completed at the KMDB, which has significantly improved combat and technical characteristics. It was planned to install a diesel engine, traditional for Kharkiv citizens, on the tank - 6TDN with a capacity of 1000 liters. with. (a variant with a more powerful 1250-horsepower diesel engine was also being worked out). Object 478 was supposed to install an improved turret, guided missile weapons, a new sight, etc. Work on this vehicle served as the basis for the creation of a serial diesel T-80UD tank in the second half of the 1980s. A more radical modernization of the "eighty" was supposed to be the Kharkov object 478M, design studies for which were also carried out in 1976. In the design of this machine, it was planned to use a number of technical solutions and systems that have not yet been implemented. The tank was supposed to be equipped with a 124CH diesel engine of 1500 hp. with., which increased the specific power of the machine to a record value - 34, 5 liters. sec / t and allowed speeds up to 75-80 km / h. The protection of the tank was to increase dramatically due to the installation of the promising complex of active protection "Shater" - the prototype of the later "Arena", as well as an anti-aircraft 23-mm machine gun with remote control.
In parallel with object 478 in Leningrad, a promising modification of the T-80A (object 219A) was being developed, with improved protection, new missile weapons (Reflex ATGM), as well as a number of other improvements, in particular, built-in bulldozer equipment for self-entrenching. An experienced tank of this type was built in 1982, and several more vehicles were subsequently produced with minor differences. In 1984, a set of mounted explosive reactive armor was tested on them. To test the new reflex guided weapon system with laser-guided missiles, as well as the Irtysh weapon control system, the LKZ Design Bureau in 1983, based on the T-80B serial tank, created another prototype - object 219V. Both experienced tanks gave impetus to the next important step in the evolution of the "eighties" made by the Leningrad designers. Under the leadership of Nikolai Popov, by 1985, the T-80U tank was created - the last and most powerful modification of the "eighties", recognized by many domestic and foreign experts as the strongest tank in the world. The machine, which retained the basic layout and design features of its predecessors, received a number of fundamentally new units.
At the same time, the mass of the tank in comparison with the T-80BV increased by only 1.5 tons. The tank's fire control system includes an information and computing daytime aiming system for the gunner, an aiming and observation complex for the commander and a night aiming system for the gunner. The firepower of the T-80U has increased significantly due to the use of a new complex of guided missile weapons "Reflex" with an anti-jamming fire control system, which provides an increase in the range and accuracy of fire while reducing the time for preparing the first shot. The new complex made it possible to combat not only armored targets, but also low-flying helicopters. The 9M119 missile, guided by a laser beam, provides a range of destruction of a "tank" -type target when firing from a standstill at ranges of 100-5000 m with a probability of 0.8. -high-explosive shots. An armor-piercing sub-caliber projectile has an initial speed of 1715 m / s (which exceeds the initial speed of a projectile of any other foreign tank) and is capable of hitting heavily armored targets at a direct shot range of 2200 m.
With the help of a modern fire control system, the commander and the gunner can conduct separate search for targets, track them, as well as aimed fire day and night, both from the spot and on the move, and use guided missile weapons. The Irtysh daytime optical sight with a built-in laser rangefinder allows the gunner to detect small targets at a distance of up to 5000 m and determine the range to them with high accuracy. Regardless of the weapon, the sight is stabilized in two planes. Its pancratic system changes the magnification of the optical channel in the range of 3, 6-12, 0. At night, the gunner searches and aims using the combined active-passive Buran-PA sight, which also has a stabilized field of view. The tank commander monitors and gives target designation to the gunner by means of the PNK-4S sighting and observation day / night complex, stabilized in the vertical plane. The digital ballistic computer takes into account corrections for range, target flank speed, tank speed, cannon tilt angle, barrel bore wear, air temperature, atmospheric pressure and side wind. The gun received a built-in control device for the alignment of the gunner's sight and a quick-disconnect connection of the barrel tube with the breech, which allows it to be replaced in the field without dismantling the entire gun from the turret.
When creating the T-80U tank, considerable attention was paid to enhancing its security. The work was carried out in several directions. Due to the use of a new camouflage coloring that distorts the appearance of the tank, it was possible to reduce the likelihood of detecting the T-80U in the visible and infrared ranges. The use of a self-entrenching system with a bulldozer blade 2140 mm wide, as well as a system for setting smoke screens using the Tucha system, which includes eight 902B mortar grenade launchers, contributes to an increase in survival. The tank can also be equipped with a mounted track trawl KMT-6, which eliminates the detonation of mines under the bottom and tracks. The armor protection of the T-80U has been significantly enhanced, the design of the armor barriers has been changed, and the relative proportion of armor in the mass of the tank has been increased. For the first time in the world, elements of built-in reactive armor (ERA) have been implemented, which is capable of resisting not only cumulative, but also kinetic projectiles. VDZ covers more than 50% of the surface, nose, sides and roof of the tank. The combination of improved multilayer combined armor and airborne defenses "removes" almost all types of the most massive cumulative anti-tank weapons and reduces the likelihood of being hit by "blanks".
In terms of the power of armor protection, which has an equivalent thickness of 1100 mm against a sub-caliber kinetic projectile and 900 mm - under the action of cumulative ammunition, the T-80U surpasses most foreign fourth-generation tanks. In this regard, it should be noted the assessment of the armor protection of Russian tanks, which was given by a prominent German specialist in the field of armored vehicles, Manfred Held. Speaking at a symposium on the prospects for the development of armored vehicles, which took place within the walls of the Royal Military College (Great Britain) in June 1996, M. Held said that the T-72M1 tank, which the Bundeswehr inherited from the GDR army and equipped with active armor, had been tested in Germany … During the shooting, it was found that the frontal part of the tank hull has protection equivalent to rolled homogeneous armor with a thickness of more than 2000 mm. According to M. Held, the T-80U tank has an even higher level of protection and is able to withstand shelling by sub-caliber shells fired from promising 140-mm tank guns, which are only being developed in the United States and a number of Western European countries. “Thus,” the German expert concludes, “the newest Russian tanks (first of all, the T-80U) are practically invulnerable in frontal projection from all types of kinetic and cumulative anti-tank ammunition available in NATO countries and have more effective protection than their western counterparts. (Jane's International Defense Review, 1996, No. 7).
Of course, this assessment may be of an opportunistic nature (it is necessary to "lobby" for the creation of new models of ammunition and weapons), but it is worth listening to it. When piercing the armor, the survivability of the tank is ensured through the use of a high-speed automatic fire-prevention system "Hoarfrost", which prevents the ignition and explosion of the fuel-air mixture. To protect against mine explosion, the driver's seat is suspended from the turret plate, and the rigidity of the body in the area of the control compartment is increased due to the use of a special pillars behind the driver's seat. An important advantage of the T-80U was its perfect system of protection against weapons of mass destruction, superior to such protection of the best foreign vehicles. The tank is equipped with a lining and a lining made of hydrogen-containing polymers with additives of lead, lithium and boron, local protection screens made of heavy materials, systems for automatic sealing of habitable compartments and air purification. A significant innovation was the use of an auxiliary power unit GTA-18A with a capacity of 30 liters on the tank. with., allowing to save fuel while the tank is parked, during a defensive battle, as well as in an ambush. The resource of the main engine is also saved.
The auxiliary power unit, located in the rear of the vehicle, in the bunker on the left fenders, is "built-in" into the general system of the GTE operation and does not require any additional devices for its functioning. At the end of 1983, an experimental series of two dozen T-80Us was manufactured, eight of which were transferred to military trials. In 1985, the development of the tank was completed and its large-scale serial production began in Omsk and Kharkov. However, despite the perfection of the GTE, in a number of parameters, primarily in terms of efficiency, it was inferior to the traditional tank diesel engine. Besides. the cost of a diesel engine was much lower (for example, the V-46 engine in the 1980s cost the state 9600 rubles, while the GTD-1000 - 104,000 rubles). The gas turbine had a significantly shorter resource, and its repair was more difficult.
An unambiguous answer: which is better - a tank gas turbine or an internal combustion engine was never obtained. In this regard, interest in installing a diesel engine on the most powerful domestic tank was constantly maintained. In particular, there was an opinion about the preference of the differential use of turbine and diesel tanks in various theaters of war. Although the idea of creating a version of the T-80 with a unified engine-transmission compartment, which allows the use of interchangeable diesel and gas turbine engines, was in the air, was never realized, work on the creation of a diesel version of the "eighties" was carried out since the mid-1970s. In Leningrad and Omsk, experimental vehicles "object 219RD" and "object 644" were created, equipped, respectively, with diesel engines A-53-2 and B-46-6. However, the Kharkiv residents achieved the greatest success, having created a powerful (1000 hp) and economical six-cylinder 6TD diesel engine - a further development of the 5TD. The design of this engine began in 1966, and since 1975 it has been tested on the chassis of the "object 476". In 1976, a variant of the T-80 with 6TD ("object 478") was proposed in Kharkov. In 1985, on its basis, under the leadership of General Designer I. L. Protopopov, "object 478B" ("Birch") was created.
Compared to the "jet" T-80U, the diesel tank had slightly worse dynamic characteristics, but had an increased power reserve. The installation of the diesel engine required a number of changes in the transmission and control drives. In addition, the vehicle received remote control of the Utes anti-aircraft machine gun. The first five serial "Birches" were assembled by the end of 1985, in 1986 the car was launched into a large series, and in 1987 it was put into service under the designation T-80UD. In 1988, the T-80UD was modernized: the reliability of the power plant and a number of units was increased, the mounted dynamic protection "Contact" was replaced with built-in dynamic protection, the armament was revised. Until the end of 1991, about 500 T-80UDs were produced in Kharkov (of which only 60 were transferred to units stationed on the territory of Ukraine). In total, by this time in the European part of the USSR there were 4839 T-80 tanks of all modifications. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the production of cars fell sharply: independent Ukraine was unable to order military equipment for its own armed forces (however, the position of "independent Russia" was not much better).
A way out was found in the offer of a diesel version of the T-80 for export. In 1996, a contact was made for the supply of 320 vehicles, which received the Ukrainian designation T-84, to Pakistan (this number probably included the tanks available in the Ukrainian armed forces). The export value of one T-84 was $ 1.8 million. In Kharkov, work is underway to create a more powerful (1200 hp) 6TD-2 diesel engine, intended for installation on modernized T-64 models. However, in light of the economic situation prevailing in Ukraine, as well as the rupture of cooperation with the Russian military-industrial complex, the prospects for tank building in Kharkov look very uncertain. In Russia, the improvement of the gas turbine T-80U continued, the production of which was completely transferred to the plant in Omsk. In 1990, the production of a tank with a more powerful GTD-1250 engine (1250 hp) began.pp.), which made it possible to somewhat improve the dynamic characteristics of the machine. Devices were introduced to protect the power plant from overheating. The tank received an improved 9K119M missile system. To reduce the radar signature of the T-80U tank, a special radio-absorbing coating was developed and applied ("Stealth" technology - as such things are called in the West). Reducing the effective dispersion surface (EPR) of ground combat vehicles has acquired particular importance after the emergence of aeronautical radar reconnaissance systems in real time using side-looking synthetic aperture radars that provide high resolution. At a distance of several tens of kilometers, it became possible to detect and track the movement of not only tank columns, but also individual units of armored vehicles.
The first two aircraft with such equipment - Northrop-Martin / Boeing E-8 JSTARS - were successfully used by the Americans during Operation Desert Storm, as well as in the Balkans. Since 1992, a thermal imaging device for observation and aiming "Agava-2" began to be installed on parts of the T-80U (the industry was delaying the supply of thermal imagers. Therefore, not all machines received them). The video image (for the first time on a domestic tank) is displayed on a television screen. For the development of this device, the creators were awarded the Kotin Prize. The serial T-80U tank with the above-mentioned improvements is known under the designation T-80UM. Another important innovation. significantly increased the combat survivability of the T-80U. was the use of the complex of optoelectronic suppression TShU-2 "Shtora". The purpose of the complex is to prevent anti-tank guided missiles with a semi-automatic guidance system from hitting the tank. as well as jamming enemy weapon control systems with laser target designation and laser rangefinders.
The complex includes an opto-electronic suppression station (OECS) TShU-1 and an aerosol curtain installation system (SPZ). EOS is a source of modulated infrared radiation with parameters close to the parameters of ATGM tracers such as "Dragon", TOW, NOT, "Milan", etc. By acting on the infrared receiver of the semi-automatic ATGM guidance system, it disrupts missile guidance. EOS provides jamming in the form of modulated infrared radiation in the sector +/- 20 ° from the axis of the barrel bore horizontally and 4.5 "- vertically. In addition, TShU-1, two modules of which are located in the front of the tank turret, provide infrared illumination in the dark, aimed shooting with night vision devices, and are also used to blind any (including small-sized) objects. and an artillery corrected 155-mm projectile "Copperhead", reacts to laser radiation within 360 "in azimuth and -5 / + 25" - in the vertical plane. The received signal is processed at high speed by the control unit, and the direction to the source of quantum radiation is determined …
The system automatically determines the optimal launcher, generates an electrical signal proportional to the angle to which the turret of the tank with grenade launchers should be turned, and issues a command to shoot the grenade, which forms an aerosol curtain at a distance of 55 m three seconds after the grenade is fired. EOS operates only in automatic mode, and SDR - in automatic, semi-automatic and manual. Field tests of Shtora-1 confirmed the high efficiency of the complex: the probability of hitting a tank by missiles with semi-automatic command guidance is reduced by 3 times, by missiles with semi-active laser homing - by 4 times, and by corrected artillery shells - by 1.5 times. The complex is capable of providing countermeasures simultaneously against several missiles attacking a tank from different directions. The Shtora-1 system was tested on an experimental T-80B ("object 219E") and for the first time began to be installed on the T-80UK serial command tank - a variant of the T-80U vehicle designed to control tank units. In addition, the commander's tank received a system for remote detonation of fragmentation-foot shells with proximity electronic fuses. Communication facilities T-80UK operate in VHF and HF bands. The R-163-U ultrashort-wave radio station with frequency modulation, operating in the operating frequency range of 30 MHz, has 10 preset frequencies. With a four-meter whip antenna in medium-rugged terrain, it provides a range of up to 20 km.
With a special combined antenna of the "symmetrical vibrator" type, mounted on an 11-meter telescopic mast, mounted on the vehicle body, the communication range increases to 40 km (with this antenna, the tank can only work when parked). Short-wave radio station R-163-K, operating in the frequency range of 2 MHz in telephone-telegraph mode with frequency modulation. designed to provide long-range communication. It has 16 preset frequencies. With a whip HF antenna 4 m long, providing operation while the tank was moving, the communication range was initially 20-50 km, however, due to the introduction of the possibility of changing the antenna directional pattern, it was increased to 250 km. With a whip 11-meter telescopic antenna, the operating range of the R-163-K reaches 350 km. The command tank is also equipped with the TNA-4 navigation system and an AB-1-P28 self-powered gasoline power generator with a capacity of 1.0 kW, an additional function of which is to recharge the batteries while stationary with the engine off. The creators of the machine have successfully solved the issue of electromagnetic compatibility of numerous radio-electronic means.
For this, in particular. a special electrically conductive track is used. The armament, power plant, transmission, chassis, observation devices and other equipment of the T-80UK correspond to the T-80UM tank. however, the gun ammunition was reduced to 30 shells, and the PKT machine gun - to 750 rounds. The development of the T-80 tank was a major achievement of the domestic industry. A great contribution to the creation of the tank was made by the designers A. S. Ermolaev, V. A. Marishkin, V. I. Mironov, B. M. Kupriyanov, P. D. Gavra, V. I. Gaigerov, B. A. Dobryakov and many other specialists. The amount of work done is evidenced by more than 150 copyright certificates for inventions proposed in the process of creating this machine. A number of tank designers were awarded high government awards. The Order of Lenin was awarded to A. N. Popov and A. M. Konstantinov, the Order of the October Revolution to A. A. Druzhinin and P. A. Stepanchenko …..
On June 8, 1993, by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, a group of specialists and the general designer of the T-80U tank N. S. Popov was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of science and technology for the development of new technical solutions and the introduction of the machine into serial production. However, the T-80 has far from exhausted the possibilities for further modernization. The improvement of the means of active protection of tanks continues. In particular, the experimental T-80B tested the "Arena" active tank protection complex (KAZT), developed by the Kolomna KBM and designed to protect the tank from ATGM and anti-tank grenades attacking it. Moreover, the reflection of ammunition is provided, not only flying directly to the tank, but also intended to destroy it when flying from above. To detect targets, the complex uses a multifunctional radar with an "instant" view of the space in the entire protected sector and high noise immunity. For the targeted destruction of enemy missiles and grenades, narrowly targeted defensive ammunition is used, which has a very high speed and is placed along the perimeter of the tank turret in special installation shafts (the tank carries 26 such ammunition). Automatic control of the complex operation is carried out by a specialized computer that provides. also, monitoring its performance.
The sequence of the complex is as follows: after turning it on from the tank commander's control panel, all further operations are performed automatically. The radar provides a search for targets flying up to the tank. Then the station is transferred to the auto-tracking mode, developing the parameters of the target's movement and transferring them to the computer, which selects the number of the protective ammunition and the time of its operation. Protective ammunition forms a beam of damaging elements that destroy the target on approach to the tank. The time from target detection to its destruction is record-breaking short - no more than 0.07 sec. After 0, 2-0, 4 seconds after the defensive shot, the complex is again ready to "shoot" the next target. Each defensive ammunition fires at its own sector, and sectors of closely spaced ammunition overlap, which ensures the interception of multiple targets approaching from the same direction. The complex is all-weather and "all-day", it is capable of working when the tank is moving, when the tower is turning. An important problem, which was successfully resolved by the developers of the complex, was to ensure the electromagnetic compatibility of several tanks equipped with the "Arena" and operating in a single group.
The complex practically does not impose restrictions on the formation of tank units under the terms of electromagnetic compatibility. "Arena" does not react to targets located at a distance of more than 50 m from the tank, to small-sized targets (bullets, shrapnel, small-caliber shells) that do not pose an immediate threat to the tank, to targets moving away from the tank (including its own shells), on low-speed objects (birds, clods of earth, etc.). Measures have been taken to ensure the safety of the infantry accompanying the tank: the danger zone of the complex - 20 m - is relatively small, when the protective shells are triggered, no side lethal fragments are formed. there is an external light signaling warning the infantrymen behind the tank about the inclusion of the complex. Equipping the T-80 with the "Arena" makes it possible to increase the tank's survivability during offensive operations by approximately two times. At the same time, the cost of losses of tanks equipped with KAZT decreases 1.5-1.7 times. Currently, the Arena complex has no analogues in the world. Its use is especially effective in the context of local conflicts. when the opposing side is armed with only light anti-tank weapons. Tank T-80UM-1 with KAZT "Arena" was first publicly demonstrated in Omsk in autumn 1997. A variant of this tank with another active protection complex - "Drozd" was also shown there. In order to increase the ability to combat air targets (primarily attack helicopters), as well as tank-hazardous enemy manpower, the Tochmash Central Research Institute has created and tested a set of additional weapons for the T-80 tank with a 30-mm 2A42 automatic cannon (similar to that installed on the BMP -3. BMD-3 and BTR-80A). The cannon, which has a remote control, is installed in the upper rear part of the turret (while the 12.7 mm Utes machine gun is dismantled). The aiming angle relative to the tower is 120 "on the horizon and -5 / -65" - on the vertical. The ammunition load of the installation is 450 rounds.
Characteristics of KAZT "Arena"
Target speed range: 70-700m / s
Azimuth protection sector: 110 °
Detection range of flying targets: 50 m
Complex reaction time: 0.07 sec
Power consumption: 1 kW
Supply voltage: 27V
Complex weight: 1100 kg
Instrument volume inside the tower: 30 sq.
A further development of the T-80 was the "Black Eagle" tank, the creation of which was carried out in Omsk. The vehicle, which retains the T-80 chassis, is equipped with a new turret with a horizontal automatic loader, as well as 1 TD with a capacity of 1500 hp. with. At the same time, the mass of the vehicle increased to 50 tons. As the main armament on the "Black Eagle", promising guns with a caliber of up to 150 mm can be used. Currently, the T-80 is one of the most popular fourth-generation main tanks, second only to the T-72 and the American M1 Abrams. As of early 1996, the Russian army had approximately 5,000 T-80s, 9,000 T-72s, and 4,000 T-64s. For comparison, the American armed forces have 79 IS Mi tanks. Ml A and M1A2, in the Bundeswehr there are 1,700 Leopards, and the French army plans to buy, in total, only 650 Leclerc tanks. In addition to Russia, T-80 machines are also in Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Syria. The press reported on the interest in acquiring the "eighties" from India, China and other countries.
