T-80 turrets at the Omsk Plant.
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Russia will resume production of new T-80 tanks – “from scratch,” according to Alexander Potapov, CEO of tank manufacturer Uralvagonzavod.
“That’s the task ahead of us, or at least that’s what the military has set for us,” Potapov said told Zvezda. “And we are now actively interacting with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, working on this and clarifying these issues, because this requires new capacities accordingly.”
Be skeptical. The Uralvagonzavod factory in Omsk, Siberia, has not produced a new T-80 hull since 1991. And while the Omsk factory may still have the 32-year-old tools, it probably doesn’t have suppliers for dozens of the thousands of parts it would take to assemble a new T-80.
It’s clear why the Kremlin would reportedly order Uralvagonzavod to resume production of the 46-ton, three-person T-80 with its 125-millimeter main gun. In its 19-month war against Ukraine, Russia has lost around 2,000 tanks – almost half as many tanks as Russian forces had on the front line at the beginning of 2022.
And although the Russians have recouped much of their losses by restoring older tanks in storage – including potentially hundreds of early T-80 models – the supply of tanks in storage is not unlimited.
It is unclear which T-80 model Uralvagonzavod would produce if they were actually brand new tanks. The company is producing “new” gas turbine-powered T-80BVMs by installing modern optics and fire control systems into an old pre-1991 fuselage. Downgraded T-80BV Obr are also produced. 2023 with less demanding optics.
Regardless, the manufacture of complete T-80BVMs or T-80BV Obr. In 2023, Uralvagonzavod could have to field hundreds of subcontractors who haven’t built tank parts in three decades. There’s a reason Potapov stressed the need for “new capacity.”
It’s hard to do. Note that American tank manufacturer General Dynamics Land Systems also only builds “new” M-1 tanks on old hulls, the last of which it produced in 1996. When the US Congressional Budget Office examined the American tank industry in 1993, it found that restarting production from scratch would take 56 months and cost $1.1 billion.
The Russian tank industry is not the American tank industry, but the CBO study highlights at least one important truth that should apply to both industries. Resuming production of brand new tanks after decades is expensive and time consuming.
So when Potapov said Uralvagonzavod would resume production of new T-80s, he almost certainly meant not soon.
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