Whiskey's Briefing Room

WhiskeyOutpost · #**611** ● 01-16-2023, 06:25 PM

- An extremely rare Ukrainian T-84 "Oplot" made an appearance, somewhere.

The T-84 is a Ukrainian main battle tank (MBT), based on the Soviet T-80 MBT introduced in 1976, specifically the diesel engine version: T-80UD. The T-84 was first built in 1994 and entered service in the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 1999. Its high-performance opposed-piston engine makes it a fast tank, comparable to other modern MBTs with a power-to-weight ratio of about 26 horsepower per tonne (19 kW/t).

The Oplot is armed with a 125 mm smoothbore gun. It is compatible with all Soviet/Russian 125 mm tank ammunition. This tank is fitted with a carousel-type autoloader, similar to that of the Soviet and Russian tanks. Four types of different rounds can be used. Typically these are APFSDS, HEAT, HE-FRAG, and guided missiles. A total of 28 rounds are stored in the autoloader and ready to use. The rest are stored inside the hull.

Protection of the Oplot has been improved over the initial T-84 model. The tank has a welded hull and turret with built-in "Nozh" explosive reactive armor. The tank is fitted with Shtora-1 countermeasures system which reduces the chance of being hit by infrared guided anti-tank missiles.

The Oplot is capable of launching anti-tank guided missiles in the same manner as ordinary rounds: a Soviet 9K119M Refleks (Western reporting name AT-11 Sniper-B), or its Ukrainian version.