The only tank T-80UM-2 with active protection "Drozd" was destroyed at the beginning of the special operation
Source: dzen.ru
News, of course, quite old - 10 months have already passed - but it has not become particularly familiar in the domestic information space, so many are not aware of this, so it would not be superfluous to highlight it. We are talking about the T-80UM-2, equipped with the Drozd active defense system and lost in March 2022 in the Sumy region northwest of Kharkov. A car that is unique not only in its technical equipment, but also in its fate.
"Drozd" not only for the T-55
About the Soviet complex of active protection (KAZ) "Drozd", probably, almost everyone who is interested in armored vehicles in one way or another heard out of the corner of their ear. Adopted in 1983, it became the world's first mass-produced means of actively destroying tank-attacking projectiles. At the same time, it must be admitted, it was quite effective: by detecting anti-tank grenades and missiles using high-frequency radar sensors, Drozd destroyed them with a directed explosion and a fragmentation stream of fired counter-munitions with a probability of up to 70-80%.
Tower tank T-55AD. Launchers and a radar station are visible. Source: vitalykuzmin.net
The T-55AD tank became the mass carrier of the Drozd - a fairly recognizable vehicle with characteristic attributes in the form of twin launchers and radar stations along the sides of the turret, as well as an overall "backpack" with an electronics unit in the turret rear. However, despite the fact that for the same T-62 they tried to make a slightly different KAZ, the Drozd itself was largely universal and could be installed on other vehicles, which, in principle, was done in single copies.
Block of electronic equipment at the stern of the T-55AD turret. Source: vitalykuzmin.net
From relatively recent - post-Soviet - experiments, the T-80 can be taken as examples. Here, of course, the Ukrainian "Object 478BEM1" with this active protection, which our "good neighbors" gladly fused in the United States, immediately comes to mind. Thus, the Americans were able to thoughtfully and deeply explore the technical component of both the tank itself and the Drozd.
Ukrainian "Object 478BEM1" with "Drozd". Source: www.dzen.ru
In our country, the most famous carrier of Drozd was the very modernized version of the T-80U tank, which received the T-80UM-2 index and was made in a single copy in 1995 by Omsk Transmash. At the same time, it is worth noting that a persistent myth has already been entrenched behind the machine that it is not Drozd, but Drozd-2 that is installed on it.
Tank T-80UM-2. Source: www.dzen.ru
In fact, we are not talking about any Drozd-2. The T-80UM-2 has all the elements characteristic of the "bird" of the first model in the form of twin launchers, radar stations and an external turret electronics unit. But the second "Drozd" can be perfectly observed in a deeply modernized form on such equipment as the T-14 tank and the T-15 infantry fighting vehicle, made on the basis of the Armata platform, and also, if we talk about absolutely exotic, on a boat like " Raptor.
An example of the installation of KAZ "Drozd-2". Launchers are marked in red. Source: www.dzen.ru
The development of KAZ "Drozd-2" - active protection "Afganit" on the T-14. Source: www.dzen.ru
Adapted "Afghanit" on a Raptor-type boat. Source: www.dzen.ru
Backyards of the training ground, exercises and NWO
Somewhat story with the T-80UM-2 even tragic.
In the 90s, after the collapse of the USSR, most of the defense enterprises of Russia were left almost completely without sources of funding, so everyone had to get out on their own. For example, the leading institute for the development of armor for equipment and infantry, represented by the Research Institute of Steel, was forced to make cemetery fences in its workshops. But someone with production capacities and the relevance of products was more lucky - the same UralVagonZavod, due to the sale of the T-90 to India, was able to make ends meet.
Absolutely the same commercial interest, in order to support the pants on a rapidly losing weight belly, was also pursued by Omsk residents. The T-80UM-2, along with other projects, including the T-80UM-1, equipped with the Arena KAZ, was an attempt to get a production contract even from its own Ministry of Defense, even abroad.
T-80UM-1 with KAZ "Arena". Source: military-az.com
Indeed, the tank quickly appeared in the catalogs of military equipment for potential foreign customers. Not without open screenings, of course. The T-80UM-2 was demonstrated both at arms exhibitions and participated in various public "rides" in order to arouse interest among buyers. But commercial success, which is understandable, he did not receive.
T-80UM-2 at the VTTV exhibition in 1999. Omsk. Source: gurkhan.blogspot.com
Even if we discard all the arguments that the Drozd left for the United States thanks to Ukraine, the wariness and conservatism of the military in relation to KAZ and the lack of money, this car would not have got into the troops in any case simply because the Drozd was already outdated very limited system. Against his background, the Arena looked much more attractive. In the end, it happened: the T-80UM-2, unlike its counterpart in the face of the T-80UM-1, quickly left the stage and registered at the training ground in Kubinka - in the possession of the NIIII BT VT.
Unlike many models of equipment, the T-80UM-2 did not stand idle there very much and now and then participated in various experiments and "closed" shows for the military leadership. As a matter of fact, this can be seen even by the number of photographs circulating on the Internet - the car often flashed in different angles and places, so that it did not rot in a hangar or in an open field. And the soldiers of the security company at the training ground did not miss the moment to pose with this kind of unique tank.
On this, perhaps, the fate of the tank with the "Drozd" could have ended - in the end they would simply be written off to "long-term storage", from where the equipment usually does not return, or has a small chance of getting into the museum if it is of some historical value. But no.
In September 2021, the T-80UM-2 again appeared in the lenses of television cameras. Then the joint exercises “West-2021”, in which Russia and Belarus took part, just ended, and the military units returned to their places of permanent deployment. During this process, the tank lit up - in the echelon of equipment of the Kantemirovskaya division at one of the Belarusian railway stations.
T-80UM-2 in the echelon of the Kantemirovskaya division after the exercises "West-2021". Source: www.dzen.ru
A number of media, including major publications, immediately screamed that the tank with the Drozd was not by chance there, they say, they almost ran it in during the exercises, in order to then start mass production of KAZ. Along the way, of course, they savored the fact that the machine was equipped with Drozdom-2 (absolute nonsense, of course), which means that there is hope for the introduction of this new system into the troops.
In fact, the most likely reason for the appearance of the T-80UM-2 in Kantemirovka is a banal lack of materiel. At the same time, most likely, active protection had neither combat equipment nor working automation. This tank generally has a good place in the museum - like the original car, but it turned out the way it happened. Historicity is not always considered in the troops. It drives, shoots and is in a fully combat-ready condition - it will do in battle.
This principle has been put into practice. Unexpected, of course. It was thought that the participation of this tank in active maneuvers of troops would be limited to exercises, but on February 24, 2022, a special military operation began in Ukraine. There, this Omsk product turned out to be where it took the last battle.
On March 18, 2022, photos of the consequences of a clash between Russian troops and units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the town of Trostyanets, Sumy region, appeared on social networks (mainly, of course, on the banned Facebook) and some media. On them, in addition to various kinds of equipment, the T-80UM-2 was noticed. It is rather difficult to establish the true nature of its damage, but the photographs show that the tank was completely burned out. Separately from the tank is the tower. Was this a consequence of the ignition of propellant charges or the detonation of shells, or, as they say, "specially planted nearby" - the question.
Lost T-80UM-2 in the Sumy region. Source: www.dzen.ru
The fact remains that the T-80UM-2 was indeed destroyed. And the newsbreak for both Western and Ukrainian media turned out to be significant. "Orcs have lost a unique tank" is one of the mildest statements in this matter. In fact, all the cries about the features of the machine are too exaggerated. In fact, they lost a museum exhibit, which did not differ in combat characteristics from the usual serial T-80U and could not boast of a working Drozd. "Kit" with launchers and radar - no more.
From a historical point of view, of course, one of the first T-80s equipped with active protection. From a practical point of view, it is an ordinary linear tank without claiming unique combat properties. If only the crew remained alive after those events.
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