Russia Is Running Out Of T-80 Tanks

Production is unlikely to resume.

Russia continues to modernize its T-80 tanks, but available data suggests that stocks of these vehicles are gradually running out, according to Defence Express. At the same time, analysts believe the prospects for resuming full-scale production of new T-80s remain extremely slim.

Satellite images available from open sources show that there are currently 203 T-80 tanks at the Omsktransmash plant’s storage site, whereas three months ago there were 253 tanks there.

Based on this data, OSINT researcher Jompy concluded that the Russian defense industry produces an average of about 15 modernized T-80BVM tanks per month. At this rate, the existing stock of equipment on the plant’s premises will last for approximately 12.5 months of operation.

According to the researcher’s estimates, about half of the vehicles remaining on the site are T-80U and T-80UD variants, which can be identified by characteristic camouflage elements. Another 30 or so tanks are without turrets, presumably for further conversion into armored recovery vehicles.

In his previous studies, Jompy noted that as of 2021, Russia had up to 1,700 T-80 tanks of various variants in storage depots. Currently, in addition to the more than 200 vehicles at Omsktransmash, there may be about 100 more such tanks remaining at other storage facilities. At the same time, the Russian Army has approximately 350 modernized T-80BVM tanks in service, along with another 250 or so T-80BV and T-80U tanks.

However, even with certain reserves of equipment, Russia has effectively lost the ability to produce new T-80s. This assessment is provided by Andrey Tarasenko, a researcher of armored vehicle history.

According to him, the key problem is the loss of the full technological cycle for the production of gas turbine engines, which are the defining feature of this family of tanks. This is precisely why Russian industry is currently only capable of modernizing existing vehicles by installing new or modified turrets on old chassis, which allows for a partial improvement in their protection and combat performance.

As early as 2023, experts drew attention to Russia’s intentions to resume production of the T-80, linking these plans to the “Armata” project and developments under the “Burlak” program. However, over the past two and a half years, the aggressor state has not demonstrated significant progress in this direction.

Therefore, for now, the Russian army continues to rely primarily on the modernization and refurbishment of Soviet-made tanks, while the prospects for launching serial production of new T-80s remain uncertain.

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