The T-84 is a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...

(MBT), based on the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

T-80 The T-80 is a main battle tank (MBT) that was designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union and manufactured in Russia. The T-80 is based on the T-64, while incorporating features from the later T-72. The chief designer of the T-80 was So ...

MBT introduced in 1976, specifically the

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

version: T-80UD. The T-84 was first built in 1994 and entered service in the

Ukrainian Armed Forces , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly known ...

in 1999. Its high-performance

opposed-piston engine An opposed-piston engine is a piston engine in which each cylinder has a piston at both ends, and no cylinder head. Petrol and diesel opposed-piston engines have been used mostly in large-scale applications such as ships, military tanks, and ...

makes it a fast tank, comparable to other modern MBTs with a

power-to-weight ratio Power-to-weight ratio (PWR, also called specific power, or power-to-mass ratio) is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measuremen ...

of about 26

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

per tonne (19 kW/t). 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 able to fire standard

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

and

guided missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket ...

Development history

After the adoption of the

tank, the Soviets began improving its design. The disadvantages of the gas-turbine engine were readily apparent, and so several design projects were initiated to adopt a diesel alternative.

Development of the T-80UD

Leningrad Kirov Plant (LKZ) began work in 1975 with a diesel 2V16 1500 hp engine on a T-80B chassis. This was designated the Ob. 219RD. Work wasn't completed until 1983. The design bureau at Omsk Transport Engineering Design Bureau developed a test bed, called the Ob. 644, powered by the V-46-6 of the

T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet/Russian main battle tanks that entered production in 1969. The T-72 was a development of the T-64, which was troubled by high costs and its reliance on immature developmental technology. About 25,000 T-72 tanks ha ...

. Further work on these was not continued as the main focus at the time was on the

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...

engine favored by Defence Minister

Dmitry Ustinov Dmitriy Fyodorovich Ustinov (russian: Дмитрий Фёдорович Устинов; 30 October 1908 – 20 December 1984) was a Marshal of the Soviet Union and Soviet politician during the Cold War. He served as a Central Committee sec ...

. In 1975,

Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau ( ua, Харківське Конструкторське Бюро з Машинобудування ім. О.О. Морозова, or ХКБМ, KhKBM), often simply called Morozov Design Bureau or a ...

(KMDB) began work on the Object (Ob.) 278, a T-80 powered by a 6TD 1000 hp diesel engine developed for the improved

T-64 The T-64 is a Soviet tank manufactured in Kharkiv, and designed by Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau. The tank was introduced in the early 1960s. It was a more advanced counterpart to the T-62: the T-64 served in tank divisions, while ...

and T-74. This quickly became outclassed by the Ob. 476, and so lost favor. The Ob. 478M was a more sophisticated model than the Ob. 478. Improvements included the Sistema

fire control system A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a ...

, Shatter

active protection system An active protection system is a system designed to actively prevent certain anti-tank weapons from destroying a vehicle. Countermeasures that either conceal the vehicle from, or disrupt the guidance of an incoming guided missile threat are design ...

, and a 1,500 hp diesel engine. This too was abandoned as it was considered too costly. After the death of Ustinov in 1984, the strength of the design bureau of the LKZ began to weaken and the Ministry of Defense started to think seriously about equipping the T-80 tanks with diesel engines. In September 1985, the government approved the development start of a diesel-powered T-80U. Five prototypes of the Ob. 478B with the 6TD engine were produced by year's end. Prototypes of a less sophisticated model, called Ob. 478A, were built for comparison. The government approved production of the Ob. 478B in 1986. The Soviet Army noted problems with the tank, and full-scale production was delayed to make changes. The Soviet Army also opposed a plan to name the tank the T-84, as KMDB had originally envisioned, because it would draw attention to the fact that the Soviets were operating four tanks (T-64, T-72, T-80 and T-84) with more or less similar characteristics. The

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

settled the debate, siding with the Army. It was subsequently adopted into service as the T-80UD. The T-80UD was first deployed to the

4th Guards Tank Division The 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Order of Lenin Red Banner Tank Division named after Yuri Andropov (), commonly known as the Kantemirovites, the Kantemirovskaya Division or Kantemir Division, is a Guards armoured division of the Russian Ground F ...

and the

2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division The 2nd Guards M. I. Kalinin Taman Motor Rifle Division (russian: 2-я гвардейская мотострелковая Таманская ордена Октябрьской Революции Краснознаменная ордена Су ...

. It was first publicly shown at the

1990 Moscow Victory Day Parade The 1990 Moscow Victory Day Parade was held on May 9, 1990 to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War. The parade was inspected by the USSR Minister of Defense Marshal Dmitry Yazov, and was co ...

, then later in the

1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, also known as the August Coup,, "August Putsch". was a failed attempt by hardliners of the Soviet Union's Communist Party to forcibly seize control of the country from Mikhail Gorbachev, who was Soviet ...

Development of the T-84

KMDB developed a welded turret to replace cast turrets, which were no longer made in Ukraine after the breakup of the Soviet Union. A T-80UD with this turret, Ob. 478BK, was completed in 1995. Ukraine delivered 175 Ob. 478BE to Pakistan by 1999. The Ob. 478D with Aynet fire control system and Buran night sight was trialed. Pilots of the Ob. 478DU and Ob. 478DU2 were also produced. One prototype appeared at

International Defence Exhibition The International Defence Exhibition & Conference, or IDEX, is a biennial arms and defence technology sales exhibition. The exhibition is the largest defence exhibition and conference in the Middle East and takes place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Em ...

(IDEX) in 1995 as the "T-84 Supertank." An Ob. 478DM appeared at IDEX 1999 as the T-84M. The Ob. 478DU4 gave rise to the T-84 Oplot, which was marketed to Turkey. The 125 mm caliber gun was replaced with a 120 mm one able to fire NATO ammunition, and designated the T-84-120. This was marketed to Turkey as the Yatagan, and was trialed there in 2000. The Ukrainian government eventually made good on its promise to buy the T-84 for the

Ukrainian Army The Ukrainian Ground Forces ( uk, Сухопу́тні військá Збрóйних сил Украї́ни), also known as the Ukrainian Army, are the land forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They we ...

. Ten T-84Ms were delivered from 2001 to 2003. Ukraine was forced to sell off four of these to the United States when it struggled to finance the tanks.

Development of the T-84-120

The T-84-120 Yatagan was developed in 2000 in Kharkiv to NATO standards for the Turkish tender for a new MBT. The tank featured a 120mm smooth bore gun that was capable of firing

AT-11 Sniper The 9M119 ''Svir'', 9M119M ''Refleks'' (NATO reporting name AT-11 ''Sniper'') are laser beam riding, guided anti-tank missiles developed in the former Soviet Union. The two missiles are similar, but vary in range and launch platform. Both are desi ...

ATGM's, a reloading mechanism and blow-out panels. The Yatagan was also equipped with communications equipment from the French Thomson company, an

FN Herstal Fabrique Nationale Herstal (), trading as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale or simply FN, is a leading firearms manufacturer based in Herstal, Belgium. It is currently the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe. F ...

machine gun, automatic transmission, a 6TD-2 diesel engine with 1200hp and FCS taken from Oplot. In total, three 120mm guns of different designs were tested on the tank. The T-84-120 Yatagan also participated in the Kyiv parade. The current condition of the tank is unknown.

Design

The T-84's outstanding feature is a 26 hp/t power-to-weight ratio. It is also designed to perform well in hot climates, and includes an air-conditioned crew compartment (

operating temperature An operating temperature is the allowable temperature range of the local ambient environment at which an electrical or mechanical device operates. The device will operate effectively within a specified temperature range which varies based on the de ...

range is claimed to be −40 to 55 °C). The BM Oplot is a further development of the prior T-84 Oplot. 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. 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. The tank has a length of 9.7 m (including the forward-facing gun), a width of 3.4 m without removable side skirts, and a height of 2.8 m. The combat weight of the tank is 51 tons.

Armament

The Oplot is armed with a

smoothbore A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. History Early firearms had smoothly bored barrels that fired projectiles without signi ...

125 mm KBA-3 cannon, a KT-7.62 (PKT)

coaxial In geometry, coaxial means that several three-dimensional linear or planar forms share a common axis. The two-dimensional analog is ''concentric''. Common examples: A coaxial cable is a three-dimensional linear structure. It has a wire conduc ...

machine gun and a KT-12.7

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

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 A shell, in a military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. Modern usage so ...

(HE-FRAG),

armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS), long dart penetrator, or simply dart ammunition, is a type of kinetic energy penetrator ammunition used to attack modern vehicle armour. As an armament for main battle tanks, it succeeds ...

(APFSDS)

kinetic energy penetrator A kinetic energy penetrator (KEP), also known as long-rod penetrator (LRP), is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate vehicle armour using a flechette-like, high-sectional density projectile. Like a bullet or kinetic energy weapon, this type ...

, and

high-explosive anti-tank High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) is the effect of a shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to penetrate heavy armor. The warhead functions by having an explosive charge collapse a metal liner inside the warhead into a high-velocity ...

(HEAT). The main gun can also fire a laser guided missile against armoured ground vehicles and hovering helicopters within the range of 5,000m. The missile can be fired on the move against travelling targets. A

tandem-charge A tandem-charge or dual-charge weapon is an explosive device or projectile that has two or more stages of detonation, assisting it to penetrate either reactive armour on an armoured vehicle or strong structures. Anti-tank Tandem charges are ...

warhead fitted on the missile can defeat targets equipped with

explosive reactive armour Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour that reacts in some way to the impact of a weapon to reduce the damage done to the vehicle being protected. It is most effective in protecting against shaped charges and specially hardened kinetic ener ...

(ERA) 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 Assault rifle.

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,

Duplet In music, a tuplet (also irrational rhythm or groupings, artificial division or groupings, abnormal divisions, irregular rhythm, gruppetto, extra-metric groupings, or, rarely, contrametric rhythm) is "any rhythm that involves dividing the beat i ...

Zaslin Active Protection System Zaslin active protection system (; is often incorrectly named with Russian language, Russian word Zaslon) is being developed by Microtek (Ukraine), Microtek in cooperation with other military design organizations. The system is designed to prot ...

Varta VARTA AG (; german: link=no, Vertrieb, Aufladung, Reparatur transportabler Akkumulatoren – ) is a German company manufacturing batteries for global automotive, industrial, and consumer markets. History VARTA was founded by Adolf Müller in ...

optronic countermeasures system and other tank protection means. Built-in new generation

anti-

warhead

protects against

APFSDS Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS), long dart penetrator, or simply dart ammunition, is a type of kinetic energy penetrator ammunition used to attack modern vehicle armour. As an armament for main battle tanks, it succeeds A ...

high-explosive squash head High explosive squash head (HESH) in British terminology, or high explosive plastic/plasticized (HEP) in American terminology, is a type of explosive projectile which uses a plastic explosive that conforms to the surface of a target before detonat ...

(HESH or HEP) and

(HEAT) rounds.

improves protection against: * Hand

anti-tank grenade An anti-tank grenade is a specialized hand-thrown grenade used to defeat armored targets. Although their inherently short range limits the usefulness of grenades, troops can lie in ambush or maneuver under cover to exploit the limited outward vis ...

s, hand-held, and stationary grenade launchers and

recoilless gun A recoilless rifle, recoilless launcher or recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated "RR" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propel ...

s (including ammunition with

warheads) *

Anti-tank guided missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...

s of TOW-2,

MILAN Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, and Shturm-S type *

HEAT In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...

projectiles fired by 125 mm tank smoothbore guns *

projectiles fired by

125 mm 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

and 120 mm tank guns Both sides of the driver's compartment are fitted with explosive reactive armour (ERA) 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 ERA package can be easily replaced or upgraded as needed by 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 or aerosol screen laying system. The optronic countermeasure system can: * confuse the guidance systems of

anti-tank guided missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...

s (ATGM) by emitting laser jamming covering the horizontal plane of ±18° relative to the main gun tube and ±2° in the vertical plane * jam ATGM guidance systems that use

laser guidance Laser guidance directs a robotics system to a target position by means of a laser beam. The laser guidance of a robot is accomplished by projecting a laser light, image processing and communication to improve the accuracy of guidance. The key ide ...

illumination of targets, semi-automatic laser guided homing projectiles, and 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 protects the crew and interior equipment against effects of nuclear explosions, radioactive substances, toxic agents, biological warfare agents, and detects and suppresses fires in the compartments of crew and power pack. The Oplot tank can withstand an explosion of up to 10 kg trinitrotoluene (TNT) 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. Due to the collapse of Soviet Union, the

Malyshev Factory The Malyshev Factory ( uk , Завод імені В.О. Малишева, translit=Zavod imeni V.O. Malysheva; abbreviated ), formerly the Kharkov Locomotive Factory (, ), is a state-owned manufacturer of heavy equipment in Kharkiv, Ukraine. It ...

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 exact difference in performance between the new and prior armor is unknown and depends on the performance of dynamic armor.

Engine and mobility

BM Oplot is powered by a 6TD-2E 6-cylinder turbocharged liquid-cooled engine, which delivers . It is improved and more environmentally friendly version of the prior 6TD-2 diesel engine, used on the T-84 MBT. The tank could also be powered by a more powerful 6TD-3 diesel, developing . Both engines could use diesel, jet engine fuel, petrol or any mixtures of them. The engine provides a maximum on-road speed of and a range of with added fuel tanks. The tank is also equipped with a diesel-electric auxiliary power unit to supply power to onboard systems when the main engine is off. BM Oplot is equipped with

torsion bar suspension A torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension, is any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight-bearing spring. One end of a long metal bar is attached firmly to the vehicle chassis; the opposite end termi ...

. 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 32° and side slope of 25°. Equally, the tank can ford a water depth of 5m using deep water fording equipment.

Variants

T-84 Oplat guided onto a tank transporter

;Object 478 : Basic version ;Object 478M : Improvements included the Sistema

, Shatter

, and a 1500 hp diesel engine. ;Object 478A Comparison model; a simplified Object 478B ;Object 478B : The

T-80UD The T-80 is a main battle tank (MBT) that was designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union and manufactured in Russia. The T-80 is based on the T-64, while incorporating features from the later T-72. The chief designer of the T-80 was So ...

;T-84 : Ukrainian MBT based on the T-80UD. New welded turret and

Shtora Shtora-1 (russian: Штора, "curtain") is an electro-optical active protection system or suite for tanks, designed to disrupt the laser designator and laser rangefinders of incoming anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). The system is mounted on t ...

-1 countermeasures suite, new electronics, new main gun, new armor, and 1,200 hp (895 kW) 6TD-2 diesel engine. ;T-84U : Ukrainian upgrade of the T-84. New armoured side skirts, turret-conformal

Kontakt-5 Kontakt-5 is a type of second-generation explosive reactive armour (ERA) originating in the Soviet Union. It is the first type of ERA that is able to significantly decrease the penetration of armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSD ...

explosive reactive armour,

auxiliary power unit An auxiliary power unit (APU) is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft and naval ships as well as some large land vehicles. Aircraft APUs generally produce 115&n ...

, 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 An autoloader or auto-loader is a mechanical aid or replacement for the personnel that load ordnance into crew-served weapons without being an integrated part of the gun itself. The term is generally only applied to larger weapons, such as naval ...

. ;T-84-120 ''Yatagan'' : A prototype version of Oplot tailored for evaluation by the

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

Army (prototype designation, KERN2-120). Mounts a 120 mm main gun which fires both

120 mm rounds (like the

M829 The M829 is an American armor-piercing, fin-stabilized, discarding sabot (APFSDS) tank round. Modeling was designed at the Ballistic Research Laboratory (BRL) at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), which was incorporated into the Army Research Labo ...

DU series) and a special 120 mm version of the

ATGM. It also has automated gear shifting in place of a mechanical gear selector, driver's T-bar control replacing tiller bars, air conditioning, and projectile muzzle velocity sensor, and 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. ;T-84 ''Oplot-T'' :"BM Oplot-T" is an export version for Thailand. It has some minor modifications to meet local requirements, such as different radio, air conditioner and so on. Thailand ordered 49 of these tanks. Originally it was planned that all of them will be delivered by 2014. However, due to ongoing military conflict in Ukraine, the delivery was postponed to and completed in 2018. ;BREM-84 ''Atlet'' :

Armoured recovery vehicle An armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) is typically a powerful tank or armoured personnel carrier (APC) chassis modified for use during combat for military vehicle recovery (towing) or repair of battle-damaged, stuck, and/or inoperable armoured f ...

based on the T-84 ''Oplot'' chassis ;BREM-T :

based on the T-84 ''Oplot-T'' chassis. ;BMU-84 : Bridgelayer tank. ;BTMP-84 : Heavy

infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forc ...

prototype based on the T-84 Oplot tank, with lengthened hull, an extra pair of road wheels, and a rear compartment for five infantrymen.

Service 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 entered service with the Ukrainian Army in 1999. During the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, at least one T-84U was deployed with the 3rd Ukrainian Tank Brigade in Donbas, near

Barvinkove Barvinkove () or Barvenkovo () is a city in Izium Raion of Kharkiv Oblast of Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Barvinkove urban hromada, one of the communities of Ukraine. locally referred to as Barvinkove Population: History Barvinkove ...

and

Slovyansk Sloviansk ( uk, Слов'янськ, Sloviansk ; russian: Славянск, Slavyansk or ; prior to 1784 – Tor) is a city in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the administrative center of the Slovyansk urban commun ...

. T-84 tanks were believed to be deployed with the

14th Separate Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine) The 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Prince Roman the Great, () is a unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces formed in December 2014. It is based in Volodymyr as part of Operational Command West. The brigade has been actively participating ...

in Donbas.

Thailand

In March 2011, the

Royal Thai Army The Royal Thai Army or RTA ( th, กองทัพบกไทย; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. History Origin The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's so ...

placed an order for 49 T-84s to replace its fleet of aging M41A3 Walker Bulldog light tanks. In September 2011, the Malyshev Plant announced plans to produce the first batch of five Oplot-T tanks for the Thai Army by the end of the year. Under the contract, the Ukrainian company will make 49 tanks worth over US$200 million. The government approved 7.155 billion

baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. Society for Worldw ...

to purchase the first 49 Oplot tanks to be assigned to several units: the 2nd Cavalry battalion (Royal Guard at Fort Chakrabongse, Prachinburi), the 4th Cavalry battalion (Royal Guard at Kiakkai, Bangkok), the 8th Cavalry battalion (Fort Suranari, Nakhon Ratchasima), and the 9th Cavalry battalion (Fort Ekathotsarot, Phitsanuloke). In April 2017, it was reported that following the delayed deliveries from this tank, the Royal Thai Army was expected to decline the remainder of the sale and acquired the Chinese

VT-4 The VT-4 (), also known as the MBT-3000, is a Chinese third generation main battle tank built by Norinco for overseas export. Development During the development of Type 90-II/Al-Khalid (also known as MBT-2000) in the 1980s, the gearbox and e ...

main battle tank instead of the Ukrainian tank, due to the long term delivery schedule. The signed order for 49 units had to be completed by the month of January, 2017, it was reported that other deliveries may not be expected. A 26 March 2018 press release by

Ukroboronprom , type = State-owned enterprise , location = , industry = Conglomerate: Defense industry , predecessor = , founded = , founder = , hq_location_city = Kyiv , hq_location_country = Ukraine , num_locations = , num_locations_year = , ...

stated that the 2011 contract for supplying Oplot-T tanks to Thailand had successfully completed and that the last party of tanks had passed checks by the customers and would be sent to the buyer in the near future.

Operators

Current operators

* : The

Ukrainian Ground Forces The Ukrainian Ground Forces ( uk, Сухопу́тні військá Збрóйних сил Украї́ни), also known as the Ukrainian Army, are the Army, land forces of Ukraine and one of the five Military branch, branches of the Armed For ...

has 6 T-84 in service. * : According to ''The Military Balance'' 2019, Thailand had acquired 49 T-84 Oplot main battle tanks.

Evaluation-only operators

* : 1 unit, for technologies analysis and operational OPFOR training.

Potential sales

* : In 2017, Ukraine was in talks with Pakistan for the potential sale of 100 Oplot Tanks. Though Pakistan evaluated the Oplot in 2015-2017, it selected the

MBT instead. However later on,

Heavy Industries Taxila Heavy Industries Taxila (Reporting name: HIT), ( ur, ) is a Pakistani state-owned defence, military contractor, engineering conglomerate, and military corporation located in Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan.Ukrspecexport Ukrspecexport ( uk, Укрспецекспорт, an abbreviation of "Ukrainian Special Export") is a Ukrainian state-owned arms trading company and part of the state conglomerate Ukrainian Defense Industry. Ukrspecexport was formed in November ...

signed a MoU worth $600 million to upgrade the existing fleet of Pakistan's

MBTs possibly to T-84 Oplot-M standard.

Failed bids

* :,

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

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 The T-90 is a third-generation Russian main battle tank. It uses a 125mm 2A46 smoothbore main gun, the 1A45T fire-control system, an upgraded engine, and gunner's thermal sight. Standard protective measures include a blend of steel and compos ...

tanks, in a series of rearmament deals worth $4 billion with Russia. * :In 1998, the T-84M Oplot entered the tender for a new base tank for Greece. The Leopard 2A6 won the tender, defeating the French Leclerc, the British Challenger, the American Abrams, the Ukrainian T-84M and the Russian T-80U. * :The T-84 Yatagan was offered to the Malaysian Army in 2002. But the contract was lost to the Polish

PT-91 The PT-91 Twardy (, en, Tough, link=no) is a Polish main battle tank. A development of the T-72M1, it entered service in 1995. The PT-91 was designed at the OBRUM (''Ośrodek Badawczo-Rozwojowy Urządzeń Mechanicznych'', or ''Research an ...

. * :In 2009,

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

reportedly tested the Oplot tank, but the government of

Alan Garcia Alan may refer to: People * Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * ...

later decided to acquire test examples of the Chinese

MBT-2000 The Al-Khalid ( ur, —, literally "The Eternal Tank") is a Pakistani main battle tank developed by Heavy Industries Taxila since the 1990s. It is based on the Chinese Type 90-IIM tan, whose original prototype was developed by China North ...

in late 2010, only to have the government of his successor,

Ollanta Humala Lieutenant colonel Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso (; born 27 June 1962) is a Peruvian politician and former military officer who served as President of Peru from 2011 to 2016. Originally a socialist and left-wing nationalist, he is considered t ...

, abandon the purchase in early 2012 to seek other alternatives. , the T-84 was reported to be part of comparative tests to be conducted by Peru. The T-84 competed against the

S, the

M1A1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest t ...

, the

Leopard 2 The Leopard 2 is a 3rd generation main battle tank originally developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s for the West German army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West Germ ...

A4 and A6, and the

also offered by Ukraine.Peruvian Tank Contenders
, Army Technology, May 17, 2013 By September 2013, only the T-84, T-90S, Russian

, and M1A1 Abrams were still competing. * :The Turkish Army considered the T-84, but withdrew from it in favor of developing the Altay with

Hyundai Rotem Hyundai Rotem (founded in 1977) is a South Korean company that manufactures rolling stock, defense products and plant equipment. It is a part of the Hyundai Motor Group. Its name was changed from Rotem to Hyundai Rotem in December 2007 to refl ...

Gallery

Object 478 at

National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War The National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War ( uk, Музей історії України у Другій світовій війні) is a memorial complex commemorating the German-Soviet War located in the southern out ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

: file:Object 478 2.JPG file:Object 478 8.JPG file:Object 478 12.JPG file:Object 478 15.JPG file:Object 478 16.JPG file:Object 478 21.JPG file:Object 478 1.JPG

References

Sources

* *

External links

T-84 Oplot Data Sheet and pictures

Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau
��Ukrainian producer of the T-80. KMDB's pages fo
T-80UDT-84 OplotT-84 Yatagan
an
T-84 Oplot-M

at globalsecurity.org

at military-today.com * Hromadske.ua, �
Ukraine’s Tanks Are So Good, Its Own Army Can’t Afford Them
” 2017-09-14. {{Post–Cold War tanks, style=wide Post–Cold War main battle tanks Main battle tanks of Ukraine Tanks with autoloaders Military vehicles introduced in the 1990s