The T-84 is a Ukrainian main battle tank, a development of the Soviet T-80 main battle
tank. It was first built in 1994 and entered service in the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 1999.
The T-84 is based on the diesel-engined T-80 version, the T-80UD. Its high-performance
opposed piston engine makes it one of the fastest MBTs in the world, with a power-to-weight
ratio of about 26 horsepower per tonne. The T-84 Oplot is an advanced version incorporating
an armoured ammunition compartment in a new turret bustle; ten of these entered Ukrainian
service in 2001. The T-84-120 Yatagan is a prototype model intended for export, mounting
a 120 mm gun capable of firing standard NATO ammunition and guided missiles.
Production history
The T-84 is the latest Ukrainian development of the T-80 series, designed by KMDB in Kharkiv.
A main design objective was to make Ukraine's arms industry independent of Russia's, after
resulting difficulties in fulfilling a contract to supply T-80UD tanks to Pakistan. An external
difference from earlier models is the new Ukrainian welded turret, replacing the T-80's
Russian-built cast turret. The T-84's outstanding feature is the 26 hp/t
power-to-weight ratio. It has inherited the nickname Flying Tank from the T-80. The tank
is also designed to perform well in hot climates, and even includes an air-conditioned crew
compartment. Due to the collapse of Soviet Union, the Malyshev
Factory was no longer able to obtain ceramic armour modules from Russia and only the initial
batch of T-84 were produced with such. Instead, later batches of T-84's composite armour is
composed of special purpose rubber sandwiched between steel and alloy plates. The exclusion
of ceramic plate from the tank's armour may indicate downgraded protection compared to
older models. Ukraine has demonstrated several upgraded
prototypes of this tank, intended for both domestic employment and international sale.
Operational history Ukraine
The first T-84 prototype vehicle rolled out in 1994, and in the same year it was decided
to build several more vehicles. They were subjected to extensive company and army trials.
After successful completion of the extensive trials programme in the late 1990s the T-84
MBT entered service with the Ukrainian Army in 1999. On 24 August 2000, 10 T-84 MBTs took
part in the parade dedicated to the 10th anniversary of Ukraine's independence.
In 2014, the T-84 first saw action during the War in Donbass.
Thailand In September 2011, The Malyshev Plant, based
in Kharkiv, announced plans to produce the first batch of five Oplot-M tanks for the
Thai Army by the end of the year. Under the contract, the Ukrainian company will make
49 tanks worth over USD 200 million. Georgia
In October 2009, Ukrspetsstroi plans to sell to Georgia 12 modern T-84 Oplot tanks, among
other weapons. Variants
T-84 Ukrainian Modernization of the T-80UD. New
welded turret and Shtora-1 countermeasures suite, new electronics, new main gun, new
armor, and 1,200 hp 6TD-2 diesel engine. T-84U
Ukrainian upgrade of the T-84. New armoured side skirts, turret-conformal Kontakt-5 explosive
reactive armour, auxiliary power unit, thermal imaging sight, satellite navigation, commander's
laser range-finder, muzzle reference system, and other improvements.
T-84 Oplot T-84U with a new welded turret with separate
crew and ammunition compartments with blowout panels on the ammunition compartment, a new
bustle-mounted autoloader. T-84-120 Yatagan
a prototype version of Oplot tailored for evaluation by the Turkish Army. Mounts a 120 mm
main gun which fires both NATO 120 mm rounds and a special 120 mm version of the AT-11
Sniper ATGM. It also has automated gear shifting in place of mechanical gear selector, driver's
T-bar control replacing tiller bars, air conditioning, and projectile muzzle velocity sensor, as
well as differences in the fire control system, communications, etc.
T-84 Oplot-M
(Modernized), or "BM Oplot": The newest and most sophisticated version of the T-84 is
an upgraded version of the "T-84 Oplot" mounting more advanced armor, new electronic countermeasure
systems, and others. One visible feature is the new PNK-6 panoramic tank sight.
Design The BM Oplot is a further development of the
previous Oplot, which is based on the T-84 main battle tank. The tank has a conventional
layout with the driver's compartment at the front, fighting compartment in the middle
and engine at the rear, accommodating a crew of three members.
The driver sitting in the centre is provided with a single-piece hatch cover that opens
to the right. The commander on the right and the gunner on the left have single-piece hatches.
Tank has a length of 9.7m, a width of 3.4m without removable side skirts, and a height
of 2.8m. The combat weight of the tank is 51t.
Armament The Oplot MBT is armed with a 125 mm smoothbore
KBA-3 cannon, a KT-7.62 Coaxial machine gun and a KT-12.7 anti-aircraft machine gun. The
main gun is fed by a loading system equipped with conveyor, automatic loader and control
system. The ammunition includes high explosive fragmentation, armour-piercing fin-stabilised
discarding-sabot, high explosive anti tank and gun mount rounds.
The main gun can also fire a laser guided missile against battle tanks, armoured vehicles
and hovering helicopters within the range of 5,000m. The missile can be fired on the
move against travelling targets. The tandem warhead fitted on the missile can defeat targets
equipped with explosive reactive armour and advanced spaced armour.
The Oplot has 46 rounds of ammunition for the main gun, of which 28 rounds are placed
in the automatic loader. Other ammunition types carried are 1,250 rounds for KT-7.62
machine gun, 450 rounds for KT-12.7 machine gun and 450 rounds for AKS submachine gun.
Fire Control The vehicle has three forward-facing periscopes
in front of the driver's cupola. The centre periscope can be replaced with a night driving
device. The fire control system includes a gunner's
day sight, PNK-6 commander's panoramic sighting system, PTT-2 thermal imaging sight, anti-aircraft
sight and anti-aircraft machine gun control system. Detection range of targets for thermal
sighting system is up to 8 km. The tank is also equipped with LIO-V ballistic
computer, armament stabiliser and other systems. The advanced fire-control system enables the
gunner or commander to lay and fire the main armament on the move. The stationary and moving
targets can be hit with a high first round hit probability.
Protection The protection system includes multilayer
passive armour, Nozh-2 explosive reactive armour, Zaslon active protection system, Varta
optronic countermeasures system and other tank protection means.
Built-in new generation Nozh-2 anti-tandem-warhead explosive reactive armour protects against
APFSDS, or high-explosive plastic and HEAT-type projectiles.
Nozh-2 ensures protection against: hand anti-tank grenades, hand-held and stationary
grenade launchers and recoilless guns anti-tank missiles of TOW-2, MILAN and Shturm-S
type HEAT projectiles fired by 125 mm tank smoothbore
guns APFSDS projectiles fire by 125 mm and 120 mm
tank guns Both sides of the driver's compartment are
fitted with explosive reactive armour panels for extended protection. The hull sides are
hinged with large rubber skirts to withstand the attacks of man-portable anti-tank weapons.
The modular explosive reactive armour package can be easily replaced or upgraded according
to the future requirements. Oplot features a Varta optronic countermeasures
system for deceiving incoming missiles and anti-tank guided weapons. The system integrates
laser warning sensors, infra-red jammer and smoke / aerosol screen laying system. The
optronic countermeasure system provides: confusing of the guidance systems of ATGM
by putting out laser jamming covering the horizontal plane of ±18° relative to the
main gun tube and ±2° in the vertical plane jamming of the ATGM guidance systems that
use laser illumination of targets, semi-automatic laser guided homing projectiles as well as
artillery systems equipped with laser range-finders by activating the remote fast-deploying aerosol
screens in a sector of ±45° relative to the main gun tube
Crew’s collective protection system ensures protection of the crew and interior equipment
against effects of nuclear explosions, radioactive substances, toxic agents and biological warfare
agents, as well as detection and suppression of fires in the crew compartment and power
pack compartment. The Oplot tank can withstand an explosion
of up to 10 kg trinitrotoluene under the tank track and up to 4 kg TNT under the driver's
compartment. The vehicle has overpressure-type NBC protection system and can be fitted with
track mine-clearing systems. Mobility
BM Oplot is powered by a 6TD-2E 6-cylinder turbocharged liquid cooled engine, which delivers
1200 hp. It is improved and more environmentally friendly version of the previous 6TD-2 diesel
engine, used on the T-84 MBT. Also tank would be powered by a more powerful 6TD-3 diesel,
developing 1500 hp. Both engines could use diesel, jet engine fuel, petrol or any mixtures
of them. The engine provides a maximum on-road speed
of 70 km/h and a range of 500 km with additional fuel tanks. The battle tank is also equipped
with a diesel-electric auxiliary power unit to supply power to onboard systems when the
main engine is turned off. BM Oplot is equipped with torsion bar type
suspension. Either side of the six dual rubber-tyred road wheels are provided with idler at forward,
drive sprocket at the rear, and track support rollers.
The first, second and sixth road wheel stations are fitted with hydraulic shock absorbers.
The tank can negotiate a gradient of 320 and side slope of 250. Equally, the tank can ford
a water depth of 5m using deep water fording equipment.
BREM-84 Armoured recovery vehicle
BMU-84 Bridgelayer tank
BTMP-84 Heavy infantry fighting vehicle prototype
based on the T-84 Oplot tank, with lengthened hull, an extra pair of road wheels, and a
rear compartment for five infantrymen. List of operators
Ukraine The Ukrainian Ground Forces has 10 T-84 Oplot-M
in service. Thailand
The Royal Thai Army has 5 T-84 Oplot-M in service. In March 2011, the Royal Thai Army
placed an order for 49 T-84s to replace its fleet of aging M41A3 Walker Bulldog light
tanks. Up to 200 tanks may eventually be acquired. However, the Royal Thai Army had yet to make
an official announcement. The government had just approved 7.155 billion baht to purchase
the first 49 Oplot tanks to be assigned to several units: the 2nd cavalry battalion,
the 4th cavalry battalion, the 8th cavalry battalion, and the 9th cavalry battalion.
The first T-84 Oplot will be delivered to be tested at Cavalry Center at Fort Adisorn,
Saraburi in mid-2013 and during the official procurement. The factory in Ukraine had offered
the extra 5 T-84 Oplot in addition to the first 49 Oplot tanks. The Oplot-M 5 to be
delivered on 5 February 2014, 20 will deliver in July 2014.
Potential sales Peru
In 2009, Peru reportedly tested the Oplot tank, but the government of Alan Garcia later
decided to acquire test examples of the Chinese MBT-2000 in late 2010, only to have the government
of his successor, Ollanta Humala, abandon the purchase in early 2012 to seek other alternatives.
In May 2013, the T-84 was reported to be part of comparative tests to be conducted by Peru.
The T-84 competed against the T-90S, the M1A1 Abrams, the Leopard 2A4 and A6, and the T-64
also offered by Ukraine. By September 2013, only the T-84, T-90S, Russian T-80, and M1A1
Abrams were still competing. Lost sales
Bangladesh In 2007 the Bangladesh Army began negotiations
for the procurement of 76 T-84 Yatagan tanks in the first batch. The Bangladesh Army intends
to induct a substantial number of Yatagans over the next several years as part of its
third generation main battle tank procurement program. However, Bangladesh finally has decided
to buy 44 MBT-2000 in 2011. Azerbaijan
In January 2011, Azerbaijan showed interest in the Oplot main battle tank. The Defense
Ministry of Ukraine has long been holding negotiations on this issue. In June 2013,
it has been made public that Azerbaijan had instead purchased 100 Russian T-90 tanks,
in a series of rearmament deals worth $4 billion with Russia.
Combat history Ukraine – War in Donbass
See also
List of tanks List of Soviet tanks
BM Oplot PT-91M
M-84AS References
Steven Zaloga and David Markov. Russia's T-80U Main Battle Tank. Hong Kong: Concord. ISBN
962-361-656-2. External links
T-84 Oplot Data Sheet and pictures Oplot-M Main Battle Tank, Ukraine Key Data,
Detailed Information along with Images. Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau—Ukrainian
producer of the T-80. KMDB's pages for T-80UD, T-84, Oplot, and BTMP-84.
T-84 MBT at globalsecurity.org T-84 MBT at army-technology.com
T-84 MBT at military-today.com