The military conflict in Donbass, in which the Ukrainian army is participating, continues, although on a much smaller scale than in 2014-2015. Nevertheless, it can be resumed at any moment, and tanks will play an important role. In this regard, the question arises: what kind of tank power does the Ukrainian army have and to what extent is Ukraine capable of producing tanks?
Some Russian analysts are of the opinion that Ukraine no longer has a serious armored fist and cannot produce tanks. Is it so? For an objective assessment of the state of the armored forces of Ukraine, it is advisable to consider this in several aspects: the number and types of tanks in the army, the military-technical level and the state's ability to equip the army with tanks.
According to the number of tanks in the Ukrainian army, there are different estimates, according to the latest more or less objective data, there are more than 600 tanks of various types in the Ukrainian army and they are dispersed as follows.
The structure of the ground forces has two tank brigades, three tank battalions in a brigade (31 tanks in a battalion). In nine mechanized and two mountain assault brigades, in one brigade of the marines and in the airborne assault troops - one tank battalion each. In four motorized infantry brigades - one tank company (10 tanks per company), as well as in two assault battalions - one tank company and two platoons (6 tanks) equipped with new tanks.
A total of 655 tanks according to the staffing table. Of course, a significant part of them are in an incapacitated state, but, nevertheless, this is an impressive force. In addition, the formation of a third tank brigade was announced. In terms of the number of tanks, the Ukrainian army is seriously equipped and capable of carrying out large-scale operations.
What kind of tanks is the army equipped with and what is their military-technical level?
All battalions of tank and mechanized brigades, except for the tank battalion of the 53rd mechanized brigade, are equipped with T-64B tanks.
The tank battalion of the 53rd mechanized brigade, tank battalions of two mountain assault brigades and tank companies of motorized infantry brigades are equipped with T-72AV and T-72B1 tanks.
Tank battalions of the marines and airborne assault troops are equipped with T-80 tanks (most likely, they mean T-80UD tanks, which were produced in Kharkov). In addition, the Aidar assault battalion has a tank company of 10 T-64B tanks. and the Donbass-Ukraine battalion has a tank company of 10 T-72AV tanks. Also in the 14th mechanized brigade there are two tank platoons equipped with T-84U "Oplot" tanks.
Thus, in the Ukrainian army, out of 655 tanks, 444 T-64B tanks, 62 T-80 tanks, 143 T-72AV (T-72B1) tanks and 6 T-84U Oplot tanks.
Why Ukraine relied on the T-64B and T-80UD tanks is also understandable: these tanks and the engine for them were produced in Kharkov, they were the basis of the tank fleet in the Kiev, Carpathian and Odessa military districts, so most of these tanks remained in Ukraine after collapse of the Union, moreover, in terms of firepower, these tanks were at a fairly high level. Tanks of the T-72 family were not produced in Ukraine, and a limited number of them remained.
The military-technical level of the tanks is also quite high. All modifications of the T-64, T-72 and T-80 tanks were equipped with a 125-mm 2A46 cannon and its modifications, as well as 7, 62-mm and 12, 7-mm machine guns.
The T-64B tank was equipped with an OMS 1A33, which included a 1G42 Ob gunner's sight with two-plane stabilization of the field of view, a sighting channel, a laser rangefinder and an optoelectronic guidance channel for a Cobra guided missile, a 2E26M cannon stabilizer, a 1V517 tank ballistic computer, a set of sensors for automatic calculation of firing conditions, a complex of guided weapons "Cobra" 9K112 for firing from a standstill and on the move and a gunner's night sight TPN-3-49 without stabilization of the field of view. The commander installed a TKN-3 day / night sight without stabilizing the field of view, a PZU-5 anti-aircraft sight and an electric drive for remote control of the anti-aircraft installation with the commander's hatch closed.
Tanks T-72AV (T-72B1) are equipped with the simplest gunner's sight TPD-K1 with single-plane stabilization of the vertical field of view, sighting channel, laser rangefinder, as well as the gunner's night sight TPN-1-49 (TPN-3-49) without field stabilization vision. There is no MSA, corrections for firing are entered manually, the commander has a TKN-3 day / night sight without stabilizing the field of view. There is no anti-aircraft gun and a PZU-5 sight; the charger can only be controlled when the commander's hatch is open. On all modifications of the T-72, the drive for remote control of the memory did not appear, it was transferred from the T-80UD only to the T-90M tank.
The main tank of the Ukrainian army, the T-64B, has good firepower. The possibility of using the Cobra guided weapons on it loses its meaning, since such guided missiles are not produced in Ukraine. The T-72AV and T-72B1 tanks have less firepower, but are at the level of the tanks of the Donetsk militia, using the T-72 and T-64 tanks, mainly of early modifications. There is information about the use of T-72 tanks and more advanced modifications, such as T-72BA and T-72B3.
Protection of T-64B, T-80UD, T-72AV, T-72B1 tanks is provided by combined armor with ceramic fillers at the level of the latest Soviet tanks with the use of standard dynamic protection "Contact-1" on these tanks. In the process of using tanks in Donbass, they were equipped with more advanced reactive armor systems, such as "Contact-5" and "Knife".
The weight of tanks with elements of dynamic protection is about 46 tons, so their mobility is significantly affected by the power of the power plant. The T-64B tank uses the 5TDF engine with a capacity of 700 hp, on the T-72AV tank, produced before 1984, the V-46 engine with a capacity of 780 hp, after 1984, the V-84 engine with a capacity of 840 hp. The T-72B1 tank also has a V-84 engine. With approximately equal weight of these tanks, the T-72AV and T-72B1 tanks have higher mobility characteristics compared to the T-64B tank.
The information on the use of T-80 tanks in the Ukrainian army does not indicate what modification these tanks are. This tank had many modifications, including the engine. There were practically no T-80s with gas turbine engines in the military districts in Ukraine, and they were not produced in Ukraine. Only one modification of the T-80UD with a 6TD-1 diesel engine with a capacity of 1000 hp. and with the most advanced fire control complex at that time, it was produced in Kharkov. It makes no sense to put into operation tanks with a gas turbine engine, which is not produced in Ukraine. It is most likely that these are T-80UD tanks, especially since they are equipped with one battalion of marines and one airborne assault force, where the highest firepower and mobility is required.
In terms of the aggregate characteristics, the tanks of the Ukrainian army are at the level of the tanks used by the Donbass militia. The stake was made mainly on the T-64B tank (the T-80UD is a further development of the T-64B), and only about a quarter of the tanks are the T-72AV (T-72B1).
Tanks T-72AV (T-72B1) in the Ukrainian army appeared recently and, apparently, this is not from Soviet stocks, which have long been sold to African countries. These may be supplies from the countries of Eastern Europe, which do not need them, since they are armed with NATO equipment. This may be due to the fact that in the army warehouses of mothballed equipment, supplies are beginning to run out, and the army has to be replenished with supplies from the former socialist countries, in addition, there is a repair base for these tanks at the Lviv Tank Repair Plant, which, in Soviet times, carried out overhaul of the tanks of the family T-72. The required number of engines can also be obtained from the former socialist countries.
When analyzing the capabilities of the Ukrainian industry for the production of tanks, it should be borne in mind that since the times of the Soviet Union in Ukraine there was a serious industrial potential for the production of tanks. Thus, Malyshev's Kharkov plant mass-produced tanks, and in the mid-70s it produced 96 T-64B tanks per month. In addition, there were a number of tank repair plants, the Kharkov tank repair plant was focused on overhaul and modernization of T-64 tanks, and the Lvov tank repair plant - on overhaul and modernization of T-72 tanks.
Over the years of the collapse of the Ukrainian industry, this potential has been seriously undermined, but the foundation has been preserved. Ukraine can no longer produce new tanks, but it is quite capable of restoring and modernizing previously produced ones.
In 1996-1998, Ukraine successfully implemented the Pakistani contract for the supply of 320 T-80UD tanks, which performed well in the desert terrain in Pakistan. Negotiations that have been underway with Pakistan since 2017 on the modernization of T-80UD tanks have ended in nothing, Pakistan doubts Ukraine's ability to qualitatively modernize tanks to the level of T-84U "Oplot" and turned this question to Russia.
Since the late 90s at the Malyshev plant, about 85 T-64B tanks have been upgraded to the T-64BM "Bulat" level, and the tanks have been delivered to the troops. The modernization included the installation of a more advanced fire control complex from the T-80UD tank as part of the upgraded Irtysh 1G46M gunner's sight, Buran-E night sight, 1V528-1 tank ballistic computer, and Agat-S commander's day-night sight with stabilization vertical field of view, anti-aircraft sight PZU-7 and a guided weapon system with laser-guided missile "Kombat" instead of missile "Reflex". A new 5TDFM engine with a capacity of 850 hp was installed.
These tanks were supplied to the 1st Tank Brigade, which took part in the battles in Donbass in 2014. Some of the tanks were destroyed, some were damaged. In 2017, the damaged T-64BV Bulat tanks were restored, and all tanks of this modification were put into storage and replaced with T-64B tanks. It is planned to equip the newly formed tank brigade with T-64BV "Bulat" tanks.
A further development of the T-80UD tank was the T-84U "Oplot" tank. Instead of the gunner's night sight, a PTT-2 thermal imaging sight was installed, instead of the Agat-S commander's day-night sight, a panoramic day-night sight with stabilization of the line of sight in two planes and a laser rangefinder was installed. Engine 6TD-1 1000 hp replaced by a 6TD-2 engine with a capacity of 1200 hp. Enhanced tank protection, including the installation of a new generation of built-in dynamic protection "Duplet".
For the production of a batch of T-84U "Oplot" tanks in the amount of 49 pieces, a contract was signed with Thailand. This contract was difficult to implement. Ukraine supplied these tanks for seven years from 2011 to 2018. It was not possible to organize the mass production of these tanks for delivery to the Ukrainian army; only 6 such tanks were delivered in 2018.
When implementing the Pakistani contract in Ukraine, a full production cycle of all Ukrainian-made components for the T-80UD tank was organized. This was also facilitated by the transfer in 1990 of all documentation for the Irtysh sighting system with a laser missile control channel "Reflex" and the commander's sight "Agat-S" for organizing serial production at the Cherkassy plant "Fotopribor" for completing T80UD tanks, as well as the help of specialists Perm manufacturer of cannons "Motovilikhinskie Zavody" in the organization in Ukraine in 1997 of the production of the 2A46 cannon.
Ukraine today is not able to produce new tanks, but it is quite capable of modernizing previously produced tanks and bringing them to the modern level. It can upgrade tanks of the T-64B family to the level of the T-80UD tank, which surpasses almost all T-72 modifications in terms of firepower, with the exception of the latest T-72M1M and T-90M. This is possible subject to appropriate funding and restoration of technological processes of production in Ukraine of components for the T80-UD tank, which were produced during the implementation of the Pakistani contract. The fleet of Soviet cars has not yet been exhausted, and, having such a base, Ukraine is able to restore them and bring them to the required level.
The Ukrainian authorities are taking steps in this direction. So, at the end of 2018, the Malyshev plant provided a significant part of industrial production in Kharkov by organizing the process of modernizing previously released T-64 tanks.
In conclusion, it can be noted that with all the collapse of the Ukrainian industry and army, there is a significant number of tanks in service that are not inferior in their characteristics to the tanks in service with the Donbass militia, and the Ukrainian industry is potentially capable of replenishing this fleet by upgrading previously released tanks located on storage.
