T-80U

T-80U: Main Battle Tank

T-80BV

Statistics

Main gun: 125mm 2A46M
Ammunition Stowage: 28 ready/17 stowed
Default Ammunition: 17/10 3BM42 APFSDS, 7/5 3BK21 HEAT, 4/2 AT-11 'Refleks' ATGM

Coaxial machine gun: 7.62mm PK-T
Ammunition Stowage: 250 ready/1000 stowed
Default Ammunition: 250/1000 7.62mm RU

AAMG: 12.7mm NSVT
Ammunition Stowage: 100 ready/400 stowed
Default Ammunition: 100/400 12.7mm RU

Grenade Dischargers: Grenades
Ammunition Stowage: 2 ready/0 stowed
Default Ammunition: 2/0 Smoke

Armour protection:
Frontal Turret Armour: 350mm-680mm vs KE, 560mm-1140mm vs HEAT
Frontal Hull Armour: 240mm-720mm vs KE, 380mm-1040mm vs HEAT
(SB documentation)

Combat Weight: 46.5t
Engine Power: 1250hp
Height 2.2m

General

The T-80U is technically a further development of the T-80BV, but in reality its pretty much a new tank. the old turret design was thrown away, and the old diamond-shape was replaced with a more box-like shape, the K1 ERA was replaced with K5, and the front turret inserts was upgraded with a new material composition. the hull has had less changes, the engine was uprated to 1250hp over the old 1000hp engine, and K5 elements was added to the front portion.

The armour protection level is highly variable across the target profile, but can defeat most practical attacks over a significant proportion of the frontal area.

The improved fire control performance, with better integration than the early T-72 variants makes the T-80U more dangerous than the earlier T-72M1 with the same ammunition. The T-80U can also be provided with high performance laser guided ATGM with a range capability of 5km, and high penetration and lethality.

As only very recent upgrades to the T-90S and T-80UM fleet incorporate TIS systems, this option is not present in the T-80U provided within the simulation. Regardless, with appropriate ammunition the T-80U becomes a highly dangerous opponent, able to effectively fight at longer ranges than current western MBTs, and providing a tough and small target.

Thermal Signature

ERA reactive armor

The T-80U is covered with K-5 Explosive reactive armor, which unlike its K1 predecessor, does not get reduced to shrapnel when the explosively sandwiched plates blow apart. Instead, the explosion is vented out through small thin blow off plates, with weakened attachments, located on the side of the bricks. The rest of the ERA bricks remains intact, and due to their thickness, also provides protection against Sabot rounds which they break apart ïn a similar fashion to the leopard 2A5 front turret amour. On the lower portion of the ERA bricks, the designers attached rubber flaps. they serve only to pre-detonate HEAT warheads, giving the T-80U a bit extra protection from regular HEAT warheads, and reducing the effectiveness of ERA-bypassing ouble-warhead designs. The same function goes to the rubber skirts on the rear portion of the hull.

The T-80U has the traditional weakened zones of Russian amour around the coax port and drivers hatch, due to the significant lack of composite amour behind the coax port, and also because an IR searchlight takes up the space where an additional ERA brick could be placed. Under the drivers hatch, theres a weak zone where the drivers periscopes are located, due to the short hull, forcing a large cut in the upper front hull plate.

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Links

Purchase SB Pro PE
Dejawolf's model website