© Ministry of Defense of Ukraine
It took Ukraine a long time to convince its supporters to send main battle tanks. Germany provides the Leopard 2 available. It comes from Great Britain Challenger 2. A first delivery of the two battle tanks is said to have already arrived in Ukraine. The American Abrams should follow in autumn.
But that’s not enough for Ukraine. The Secretary of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov announced this week that BM Oplot to order. It seems strange that he is talking about “ordering” when other countries have been “asked” for support. That’s because the BM Oplot is built in Ukraine, by the defense contractor Ukroboronprom.
This begs the question: why does Ukraine need battle tank donations so badly when it can build one itself? Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. By that time at the latest, tank production in the Ukraine should have been up and running. But she isn’t.
Too little money for ordered battle tanks
There are several reasons for this. The Oplot is also known as T-84. The name comes from the fact that it is based on the Soviet T-80 tank based. The T-80 has been in production since 1975. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine no longer had access to new T-80s, so the T-84 was built. Interest in the T-84 was low, both abroad and in Ukraine. However, the manufacturer continued to develop it. The variant presented in 1999 T-84U was the first “Oplot”.
The Ukrainian government also ordered him – but only 10 pieces. Ukraine still had hundreds of T-64s from the Soviet era. The T-64 is the direct predecessor of the T-80. Besides, money was tight. Of the 10 Oplots delivered between 2001 and 2003, Ukraine could only afford 6 units. 4 became therefore resold to the US. There they were first thoroughly examined and then used to represent the enemy during military exercises.
Only 5 oplots in use
Ukraine’s money worries continued. In addition, battle tanks were given little priority at the time. With armor-piercing weapons becoming more and more effective for infantry, light vehicles and drones, the main battle tank seemed like a relic with no place on the battlefield of the future. Therefore, no additional Oplots were purchased later.
Of the remaining Oplots, only 5 are said to have been operational prior to the Russian raid in early 2022. It is not known how many of them are now fighting at the front or have been destroyed in the meantime.
No air supremacy
A few months after the start of the war, the conflict painted a different picture. Neither Russia nor Ukraine were able to secure air sovereignty. Armored vehicles were strategically important again.
In the defensive fight against the partly obsolete Russian tanks anti-tank missiles effective in the hands of Ukrainian soldiers – as expected. But the same applies to Russia, which has occupied areas in Ukraine and established defensive positions there. A major counter-offensive without modern main battle tanks is therefore difficult for Ukraine to implement, since modern Russian anti-tank missiles also make short work of Ukraine’s T-64s.
Possibly just a PR campaign by Ukraine
So the friendly-minded countries were asked for tank donations. This is faster than the production of new main battle tanks. Besides, Ukraine is still at war. Components and parts are required for the main battle tanks, which first have to be transported into the country.
It is questionable whether production can run at all under these circumstances. In addition, Ukraine’s financial resources have not improved as a result of the war, but have continued to deteriorate. Defense Minister Reznikov also did not say how many Oplot will be acquired.
Maybe it’s just one PR campaign, to show the allied countries that they are trying to produce the necessary war equipment themselves and will not be permanently dependent on donations or loans. This should convince the countries to continue sending weapons, ammunition and equipment instead of reducing or rationalizing the supply, because it is not foreseeable that Ukraine will be able to supply itself with them in the foreseeable future.
The BM Oplot can do that
The tank ordered is this BM Oplot. This is the latest version. This should be on a par with the Leopard 2, Challenger 2 and Abrams main battle tanks and fight alongside them for Ukraine. For Reznikov there is even “nothing better than the Oplot”.
The BM Oplot has a 125mm main gun. In total there is space for 46 projectiles, 28 of which are in an automatic loading system. The gun can also be used to fire laser-guided missiles be used. These have a range of up to 5 kilometers and are intended for combating tanks and slow-flying helicopters.
The BM Oplot is equipped with modern aiming and sighting systems. The armor of the turret was increased compared to older models. The tank has a new one reactive armor, which is also intended to protect it from tandem loads. According to the manufacturer, the reactive armor can repel guided missiles such as the TOW-2 and Milan, as well as armor-piercing shells from 125mm guns.
On board is the protection system Shtora-1. This is intended to block or disrupt the laser and infrared systems of anti-tank weapons and missiles and thus protect the BM Oplot. The Shtora-1 has an integrated smoke gun and laser warning sensors.
Up to 70 km/h fast
The BM Oplot has a 3-man crew. The improved engine has 1,200 hp. The 51-ton main battle tank can thus reach a maximum speed of 70 km/h to reach.
Only the very latest Russian tank, the T-14 Armored, which is said to reach speeds of up to 80 km/h. However, concrete data on the T-14 is just as rare as the tank itself. Russia is said to be using the breakdown-plagued tank in Ukraine – but it has not yet been spotted there.
