T-80BV in Donbass: forced measure or effective combat unit
T-80BV. Source: infosmi.net
Tanks around the head
When regular echelons with armored vehicles removed from storage move to the West, this causes a strange indignation among the public. Say, why are the most modern models of armored vehicles not fighting? Have they ended or turned out to be not so effective? Such questions, of course, have the right to exist, but with big reservations. Firstly, each such exclamation in the network from the category of “everything is lost” pours water on the mill of Ukrainian propaganda. They sprinkled ashes on their heads and immediately received a moral upsurge in the enemy camp. One can only imagine with what epithets they describe the appearance on the fronts of the T-62 as part of volunteer battalions.
Of course, a considerable share of the blame for this “victory” lies with the citizens, doomedly commenting on the passage of the next echelon with outdated equipment to the Donbass. Secondly, why else do you need equipment transferred to storage? What should happen for the unfortunate patriots to finally say - “yes, now remove the T-62 and T-80 from storage just right”? Probably for this you need tanks NATO start storming Moscow. That's why she and the equipment are in storage in order to participate in battles where firepower and armor are crucial. Especially when volunteer units go into battle. I emphasize that not the regular army of the Russian Federation, but volunteers, for whom standard equipment was not initially provided. And if the fighters go to the front under the cover of Soviet-era anti-ballistic armor, there is definitely nothing wrong with that.
T-80BV go to the West. Source: youtube.com
The appearance of the T-62 and T-80BV in Ukraine is a sign of a changing nature of warfare. Losses in tanks on the part of the allied forces, since the transition to positional battles in the Donbass, have dropped sharply. And this is not only an assessment of Russian experts, British and American intelligence insist on this. In many ways, this is why they point to a decrease in the effectiveness of light anti-tank weaponssupplied under Lend-Lease.
Columns of armored vehicles, convenient for shooting from ambush, stopped breaking through deep into the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. And since tanks die less, they naturally become an even more valuable asset on the battlefield. Moreover, the expanses of the east of Ukraine are very favored by this. And, by the way, they reduce the effectiveness of small-caliber artillery of light armored vehicles - there is a lack of power and range. Therefore, if T-62 and T-80BV tanks come to Donbass instead of armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, then this is just great news.
Removed from storage and supposedly hopelessly outdated tanks are in all cases more effective than light armored vehicles. Except, of course, forcing reservoirs and transporting troops. Few people use the last option on the line of contact with the enemy. The experience of using Soviet-era tanks may finally make the GABTU realize the inferiority of using the descendants of the BMP-1 and BTR-80 in a high-intensity conflict.
"Flying" tank in the Donbass
Let's move on to the new hero of modern stories special operations in Ukraine - to the T-80BV gas turbine tank, trains with which have already been seen moving in a westerly direction. Apart from the latest Russian T-80BVM and the Soviet T-80U, the BV version can be considered one of the most advanced tanks in the series. For its time, of course. The tank appeared in 1985 and is distinguished by the Kontakt-1 hinged dynamic protection, the upgraded 2A46M-1 gun and the new 1A33-1 fire control system. In total, along with the T-80U and T-80B tanks, at least 3000 vehicles of modification B are in storage. This very clearly demonstrates the potential in heavy weapons that Russia has.
Several dozen tanks are in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and they are actively fighting - at least 13 T-80BVs have already been lost, 5 of them have switched to the service of the allied forces. Currently, there are no T-80BVs in service with the Russian army. On the basis of these tanks, the most modern modification of the BVM was built, which has proven itself well in a special operation in Ukraine. The machine is equipped with a thermal imaging sight, dynamic protection "Relikt" and, the main advantage, a gas turbine engine with a capacity of 1250 liters. With. Its predecessor T-80BV has a gas turbine engine GTD-1000TF not so powerful - only 1100 hp. s., but for a mass of 43,7 tons this is quite enough. In terms of power, the vehicle can be compared with the T-73B3 model of 2014, but the gas turbine tank is three tons lighter, which increases its power-to-weight ratio.
Skeptics often talk about the excessively high fuel consumption of gas turbine tanks. Of course, this is true, but it is always necessary to understand the context of the use of military equipment. For example, the Ukrainian side will certainly suffer from voracious gas turbine engines - not so long ago, all oil refineries were ordered to live long. The Russian army, fortunately, does not experience such problems and can afford voracious tank engines.
At the first stages of the special operation, when tank units made raids behind enemy lines, the efficiency of engines really played a critical role. Now, tanks are often used on the principle of "throw a couple of shells at the nationalists and hide." The firing range usually does not exceed several hundred meters, which seriously complicates return fire from light anti-tank weapons.
Ahead of the allied forces are large-scale assaults on urban development, in which the T-80BV will perfectly replace armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles. Unfortunately, this light vehicle is forced to carry out suicidal work to suppress enemy firing points in cities almost point-blank. The weight of a volley of 125-mm guns, especially when there are a lot of these guns, becomes an excellent tool for denazifying the cities of Ukraine. Therefore, with the positional nature of the conduct of hostilities, high fuel consumption no longer plays a big role.
T-80BV. Source: warspot.ru
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have lost about half of their combat-ready tanks, which means that the likelihood of a duel with enemy armored vehicles is decreasing every day. And this is another argument in favor of the use of decommissioned tanks. Of course, the sighting systems of the new Ukrainian tanks, especially those with thermal imaging observation channels, are much more advanced than the T-80BV equipment. But there is less and less Ukrainian armor at the front, which means that the number of tank-dangerous targets is also decreasing. At the same time, the density of artillery fire remains high and mine warfare is gaining momentum - all these factors seriously complicate the work of light armored vehicles. So, it's time to use the Soviet tank heritage.
The high throttle response and mobility of the T-80BV is another trump card of the Soviet tank. At one time, the T-80 was compared with the T-64A, and it turned out that the Omsk tank (the car was assembled at Omsktransmash) had an average speed 1,3 times higher, acceleration from standstill to 61 km / h was 1,7 less times, and armor protection is 1,25 times more effective. In addition, each gas turbine tank requires a smaller range of fuels and lubricants. According to Russian tankers, the higher the mobility of tanks (all other things being equal) in the Ukrainian theater of operations, the higher the survivability. This is indirectly confirmed by the lower losses of the T-80BVM relative to the T-72B3 - at least based on photographic evidence.
If we go further, it turns out that T-80BV units can more effectively conduct "mobile defense", that is, plug gaps and stop the enemy's counteroffensive. Simply because tanks move faster along the front line. A gas turbine tank is easier for drivers to master, as it requires less maintenance time and is easier to manage. The issue with the restoration of T-80BV systems, which are no longer produced in Russia, is being solved at the expense of donor tanks in the rear repair shops. With such a storage fund, the army can afford to use part of the armored vehicles not on the battlefield, but as a source of spare parts.
Unlike the T-62, the "flying tank" will merge into the battle formations of the allied forces much more organically. At a minimum, it will not require a fourth crew member and specific 115-mm shells. And this means that the T-80BV for the modern conditions of the special operation "Z" will become a completely effective combat unit.
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