Russia’s Only Prototype T-80UM2 Tank Has Reportedly Been Destroyed In Ukraine

The Russian military’s sole experimental T-80UM2 main combat tank was taken down during the Ukraine invasion. However, this one-of-a-kind fighting vehicle would not be the first instance of new or experimental Russian weapons systems being used in the war.

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The Oryx blog‘s team of researchers has gathered visual proof. Material damage can be seen on both sides in the images. On March 17, researchers discovered T-80UM2’s wreckage. The tank is reported to have been dropped near Trostyanets in Sumy Oblast, northern Ukraine.

The T-80UM2 was allegedly part of a more giant stack of Russian vehicles engaged by Ukrainian forces, and photographs show the T-80UM2 destroying trucks. Its fall from grace is unknown; all we know is that its turret toppled, and its body was burned.

The T-80UM2 has a strange history since it is tied to the Objekt 640, commonly known as the Black Eagle, a new tank project. The mock-up by Black Eagle initially emerged in 1997. By 1998, the development on the T-80UM2, a Cold War-era follow-up to the T-80, had taken hold. The T-80UM2 and the Black Eagle look to have a lot in common. As a result, some individuals erroneously assume they are the same thing. If indeed the case, the T-80UM2 might acted as a testbed for the Black Eagle, which was never completed.

The T-80UM2 was based on an upgraded T-80U design, with a welded-steel turret including Kaktus explosive reactive armour (ERA) added to the front of the hull. Moreover, anti-fragmentation screens were fitted around the turret’s front, and more Kaktus was added to the track skirts.

In addition, the Drozd-2 active protection system uses radar to detect onrushing anti-tank rockets and anti-tank missiles before firing high-explosives at them. For example, it could aim at the target while disabling them at 20-30 feet from the tank.

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