In the United States launched the production of "T-72", "T-80" and "BMP-2"
"T-80BV" in American style
In the US Army, during combat training, traditionally, great attention is paid to making the enemy (OPFOR - Opposing Force) look realistic. Therefore, in the 80s, the so-called "Soviet 32nd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment", stationed at the Fort Irvine National Training Center, located in the American Mojave Desert, was armed with T-55, T-62, BMP- 1 and other equipment produced in the USSR. Later, after the collapse of the Soviet bloc, the T-72 and BMP-2 appeared there, real Mi-2, Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters.
"T-72": reminiscent of the original
However, the operation of foreign military equipment was accompanied by a lot of difficulties, the main one being the lack of the required number of spare parts. As a result, in the United States, for a cheaper designation of the units of the Soviet army, they were forced to begin production of the T-72 and other equipment resembling the weapons of a potential enemy - the Soviet army. Since the M1978 Sheridan light tank was withdrawn from service in 551, and more than one and a half thousand such vehicles accumulated in warehouses, then as a base for the creation of VISMOD, visually modified combat vehicles similar to enemy armored vehicles.
And this is an imitation of 2S1 "Carnation"
As a result, hundreds of units of "enemy equipment" began to be rolled out over a giant training ground located not far from the Death Valley. Equipped with laser defeat simulators, satellite navigation sensors, they made it possible to realistically simulate combat operations. Information about everything that was happening on the battlefield flocked to the command center and those who led the training process could see in real time how the US ground forces were fighting against the "insidious aggressor".
Some kind of ZSU-23-4 "Shilka"
The servicemen of the 32nd GMSP were dressed in stylized Soviet uniforms. After the USSR left the political arena at the behest of incompetent politicians, various despotic regimes, such as Iraq, began to act as an "enemy". True, when the T-72BV appeared instead of the T-80 running models, it immediately became clear that, despite the talk of peace and friendship, the US military was already considering the armies of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus as an adversary. In large quantities, these Tanks were in service only with these countries and were not exported at that time.
It is difficult to recognize the BMP-1 in this freak
Of course, imitations of Soviet tanks did not look very believable right next to them. Especially a lot of controversy was caused by the Sheridan version, decorated under the BMP-1. On it, except for the actual models of the gun and the Malyutka ATGM, there was little resemblance to the original. With T-72 VISMOD and T-80 VISMOD it was a little better. From a few hundred meters they could really be mistaken for the originals.
"T-80BV" next to the "Abrams"
In the 90s, when the Sheridan resource began to be developed, the total mass of enemy equipment was diluted with Abrasami. On the M-1 tower, imitations of the dynamic protection "Contact" appeared and inscriptions, often meaningless, in Russian.
More imitations of the "eighties"
As before, Soviet military equipment was used. But even here it often came to oddities, so it was decided to modernize the T-72M1 with an imitation of dynamic protection. However, for some reason, they took ... T-80BV as a role model. As a result, the "seventy-two" received not only tin boxes, but also a massive fake tube of equipment for underwater driving, like the "eighty".
"T-80BV"
"Sheridans" were used until the resource was completely used up. When the operation of these tanks became generally impossible, models of Soviet equipment began to be made on the basis of the M-113 armored personnel carriers. Here it turned out the other way around, the BMP-2 began to resemble the original more, but the T-80 models began to look like real freaks.
Technique of the "Soviet 32nd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment"
It is possible that in the near future, in addition to imitations of Russian technology, the Americans will begin to do something that is very reminiscent of what was produced in China.
Models on the M-113 chassis look like a parody
M-113 turned into BMP-2
German imitation of the T-80U tank based on the "Leopard-2A4"
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