Ukraine received Slovenian BMP M-80A
M-80A infantry fighting vehicles for Ukraine
As part of military-technical assistance, Slovenia provided Ukraine with M-80A infantry fighting vehicles. The echelon with 35 such products has already arrived on Ukrainian territory, and now the process of crew training and preparation for service should begin. It is not known when the new equipment will reach the front, but it is already clear that the benefits of such “help” will be minimal.
Help with technology
The first information about the possible transfer of the Slovenian M-80A to the Ukrainian army appeared in mid-May. At that time, the Slovenian press reported that at the beginning of the year, Kyiv expressed its readiness to buy 39 such armored vehicles for 4 million euros. In January, it was possible to conclude a preliminary agreement, but the contract was not signed. The delivery of the BMP remained in limbo.
In mid-May, it also became known that the Slovenian leadership was still ready to supply the Ukrainian army with the existing M-80A. Moreover, due to the current situation, the equipment will not be sold, but will be given away free of charge. The number of transferred equipment and the timing of shipment at that time were not specified. In addition, the information came from unnamed sources in government circles, which could be questionable.
Last week, a regular meeting of NATO defense ministers took place in Brussels. During this event, the head of the military department of Slovenia, Marjan Sarec, clarified plans to help Ukraine. According to him, in the near future, it was planned to allocate 35 infantry fighting vehicles from the presence of the Slovenian army without specifying the type, as well as a certain amount of small arms weapons and means of protection for the infantry.
While the Minister of Defense was speaking in Brussels, the Slovenian army was preparing its old equipment for transfer. Already on June 21, the first reports appeared about the arrival of a train with 35 armored vehicles on the territory of Ukraine. In addition, photographs were published with equipment on railway platforms. At the same time, the dispatch and transfer of other property and weapons has not yet been reported.
As the Slovenian press wrote earlier, the M-80A infantry fighting vehicles were transferred to the Kyiv regime from the storage of the Slovenian army. The equipment retains its standard configuration with all its features and limitations. The condition of the cars is unknown. However, it is clear that a significant part of the resource has already been depleted, years of inactivity in storage have had a negative impact, and repairs and upgrades have not been carried out.
Pattern with history
Like a number of other models that were in service with the Slovenian army, the BMP M-80A is of Yugoslav origin. So, at the end of the sixties, the military leadership of Yugoslavia got acquainted with the latest Soviet BMP-1 and wished to receive a similar model. At the same time, in accordance with the chosen course of military development, it was planned to develop and bring to production its own project.
The development of a new infantry fighting vehicle, which later received the M-80 index, started at the very end of the sixties. By the middle of the next decade, the first prototypes appeared and went to the test site. Soon, the new BMP was shown openly for the first time. Serial production was launched in the late seventies, and in 1980-82. a full-scale re-equipment of motorized rifle units began.
Almost immediately, the process of modernization and the creation of special modifications began. In the early eighties, the M-80A variant with a more powerful power plant went into production. In the future, various modifications of the BMP with a different composition of equipment and weapons were developed. Projects were also created based on the finished chassis. M-80 became the base for command and command vehicles, carriers of various weapons, etc.
The production of the M-80 of various modifications continued until the early nineties; released ca. 900 cars. Production was carried out only for the Yugoslav army, export contracts were not concluded. However, in the early nineties, the first foreign operators appeared in the person of new states that seceded from Yugoslavia. At the same time, the division of the country was accompanied by wars, and M-80s actively participated in them.
According to known data, at least 60-62 former Yugoslav M-80A infantry fighting vehicles went to independent Slovenia in the early nineties. Over the next 10-12 years, their number decreased to 52. In the XNUMXs, such equipment was considered obsolete and unusable. All remaining cars were sent for conservation. Over the past time, they have not been disposed of, and now this has made it possible to provide assistance to the Kyiv regime.
Own development
According to various foreign estimates, the Yugoslav M-80 was a revised version of the Soviet BMP-1/2. However, in fact it was an independent development. Only the general concept and individual technical solutions were borrowed. As a result, the M-80(A) received its own recognizable appearance with a number of differences from the Soviet machine.
The M-80 is based on the original aluminum armor hull. All-round protection against bullets and fragments is provided, and the frontal projection withstands small-caliber projectiles. The layout is borrowed from the BMP-1 - the bow compartment accommodates the engine and transmission, behind it are the control compartment and the fighting compartment, and the landing force is located in the stern.
Initially, the BMP was equipped with a 260 hp diesel engine. The M-80A modification is distinguished by the use of a licensed German Daimler Benz OM-403 diesel engine with an HP 320 power. Chassis - five-roller based on torsion bars. The fender has characteristic stern bars that allow you to swim. On land, the M-80A can reach speeds of up to 65 km/h, and on water up to 6-8 km/h.
M-80 main modifications were completed with an armored turret with cannon-machine-gun and rocket armament. The main weapon was a licensed 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.804 automatic cannon with 400 rounds of ammunition. A 7,62-mm machine gun with 2 thousand rounds was paired with a cannon. There was a launcher for ATGM 9M14 "Baby"; ammunition 2 missiles. As on Soviet vehicles, loopholes were present on the sides of the troop compartment for the use of personal weapons.
The crew of the M-80 included three people with accommodation in the hull and under the turret. In the aft compartment of the hull there were places for seven paratroopers. This compartment received aft doors and hatches in the roof.
M-80 in the museum
Challenges and limitations
Slovenian infantry fighting vehicles have recently arrived on Ukrainian territory and have not yet reached the combat zone. However, it is already clear that such a technique will not be able to change the situation. Moreover, along with it, the Ukrainian army receives a number of additional problems of various kinds.
First of all, a small amount of “new” technology becomes a problem. In recent months, Ukraine has lost hundreds of infantry fighting vehicles and other armored fighting vehicles. 35 Slovenian M-80A, even together with other equipment from other countries, will not make up for these losses. Accordingly, the infantry will still lack protected vehicles with a fire support function. Moreover, the number of equipment will continue to be reduced as a result of Russian strikes.
With all this, the combat value of the Yugoslav M-80A is low. So, they are protected only from bullets and small-caliber projectiles. Any anti-tank weapons, large caliber artillery or aviation armament almost with a guarantee strikes and destroys such equipment. Increasing the level of protection is possible only through attachments of various kinds, but this does not completely solve the problem.
Rear view, troop compartment doors open
Noteworthy is the specific composition of weapons. The M-80A carries a 20mm automatic cannon and an obsolete ATGM. This seriously limits the possible firepower, and in addition, leads to supply problems. So, for the HS.804 gun, 20x110 mm shells are required, which were not in service with the USSR and Ukraine. If they cannot be obtained from abroad, the already limited fire performance will become even worse.
Operational problems are to be expected. Even the newest serial M-80A is already over 30 years old and they managed to develop a significant part of the resource. Whether it will be possible to establish maintenance and repair processes, as well as to ensure the supply of the necessary spare parts, is a big question. However, the received cars may simply not survive until the next repair.
Legacy remnants
Thus, the Slovenian M-80A infantry fighting vehicles will practically not help the Ukrainian army in any way. At the same time, Slovenia was able to get rid of most of the obsolete cars, suitable only for recycling. In addition, she showed her loyalty to the Kyiv regime and its foreign partners, and also confirmed her readiness in principle to help with the supply of weapons and equipment.
However, such assistance will be very limited and may soon cease. Not so long ago, the Slovenian Minister of Defense stated bluntly that his country no longer has stocks of materiel to transfer to Ukraine. Accordingly, the current 35 infantry fighting vehicles may be the last aid from Slovenia. Whether the remaining cars will be transferred from storage, time will tell. But subsequent deliveries of other equipment, it seems, are no longer possible.
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