Like most of the tanks that were produced on the territory of the Warsaw Pact countries, the main Yugoslav battle tank M84 is a modernized version of the Soviet T-72, licenses for the production of which the USSR transferred to its allies almost free of charge.
The first prototype of the M84 was manufactured in 1982, and already in 1983, serial production of these combat vehicles began at the plant. Djuro Djakovic in the town of Slavonski Brod (today it belongs to Croatia). According to data from various sources, from 500 to 700 units were produced. Before the collapse of Federal Yugoslavia, two more modifications of this combat vehicle were created.
The M84 tank is almost an exact copy of the Soviet T-72, since the turret, hull, power unit (later the B-46 engine was boosted and, due to the installation of turbochargers, the power was increased to 1000 hp), the chassis, transmission and main armament were not changed. These two combat vehicles were distinguished by additional equipment, which the Yugoslavs installed in their sample. An SUV SUV M84 made in Yugoslavia was installed, a new sight equipped with a laser rangefinder, combined optoelectronic observation devices for the crew commander and driver-mechanic DNKS-2 and PPV-2, a new communication system, as well as a biological, nuclear and chemical protection system DRHT … Combat weight 44 tons.
The improvement of the T-72 tank carried out by Yugoslav specialists significantly improved its tactical and technical characteristics, this was confirmed during the tests of the M84 tank on the territory of the USSR in 1987-1988. Yugoslavia, in addition to line tanks, also produced ARVs and command vehicles.
In 1989, Kuwait signed a contract with the Yugoslav side for the supply of 170 M84AB tanks, 15 command vehicles and the same number of ARVs, but the supply of military equipment was disrupted due to the Iraqi attack. Of the total amount of equipment ordered by Kuwait, about 80 tanks were sent to Saudi Arabia, where units of the new Kuwaiti army were being formed at that time. In 1991, these tanks took an active part in the anti-Iraqi operation "Desert Storm".
After the collapse of the SFRY and the emergence of new independent states, the production of M84 tanks was discontinued, since the main assembly production was located on the territory of sovereign Croatia, and most of the component manufacturers remained in the territory of sovereign Serbia.
In 2003, Croatia upgraded 20 tanks to the new M84A4 level. These combat vehicles were equipped with a modern day / night sight of the SCS-84 type, a ballistic computer of the DBR-84 class and new sensors, modern communication equipment made in Great Britain. Changes were made to the power plant, German diesel engines with a capacity of 1,100 hp were installed on the tanks.
Unlike the Croats, who used the developments of Western manufacturers of military equipment to modernize the tank, Serbia, to modernize the M84 in service, largely focused on the developments of Russian specialists. The Serbian version of the modernized M84 has combined protection, KUV "Reflex", VDZ "Contact-5". A modern night vision sight "Agava-2" and the OEP system "Shtora" were also installed.
The performance characteristics of the M84 tank:
The total combat weight is 48 tons.
Crew - 3 people.
Length with gun - 9530 mm.
Case width - 3590 mm.
Height - 2190 mm.
Armor type - combined projectile.
Armament - smoothbore gun 2A46 caliber 125 mm, machine gun, twin caliber 12, 7 mm and additional caliber 7, 62 mm.
Highway speed - 60 km / h.
The power reserve is 700 km.
Climbing climb - 300
The overcome wall is 0.85 m.
The overcome moat is 2, 8 m.
M84 tanks are in service with the armies of Serbia (199 units), Kuwait (78 units), Croatia (72 units), Bosnia and Herzegovina (71 units) and Slovenia (40 units).
