Ukraine sells military secrets about tanks to the US

PV• DNUM_CGZBAZCACB 08:37

Kiev continues to sell military secrets. Recently, Ukraine sold its most advanced tank, the T-84 Oplot, to the United States for $7 million, while this type of tank has not yet begun mass production in the country.

So what did the Pentagon buy Oplot for? What secrets did Ukraine sell to the US? Details - in Sputnik's document.

Tanks have too many problems

The Ukrainian Oplot tank, weighing about 51 tons, is an improved version of the Soviet T-80UD (a diesel-powered version of the T-80). The latest version, the T-84BM, has modern fire control and optoelectronic countermeasures systems, infrared night vision devices, day/night vision devices, and Duplet explosive reactive armor designed to provide better protection against armor-piercing rounds and against tandem warheads.

The tank has a new onboard computer and communications system. The tank is equipped with a 6DT-2E two-stroke diesel engine with a capacity of 1,200 horsepower. The main weapon is a 125 mm smoothbore gun KBA-3 produced in Ukraine. According to experts, in terms of total combat power, the T-84BM is almost equivalent to the Russian T-90A tank.

Tank T-84U "Oplot".

Since 2008, the Ukrainian army has received only three Oplot tanks. Kiev has delivered 49 tanks to Thailand, although the contract has been delayed. But buyers are particularly angry about the poor quality: the tanks' paint peels off quickly, and rust is visible.

It turns out that they were using components and subassemblies that had been in storage for decades or even removed from other tanks in the open. So the new Oplots were actually still equipped with TD-1000T engines, the same engines that powered the T-80 in the mid-1970s. Although these engines were considered groundbreaking when they were introduced, they have become obsolete over the decades. (They began development in the Soviet Union in 1968.)