DTN News: Cyprus to Purchase Russian T-80U Tanks / Greek-Cypriots To Purchase Russian T-80U Tanks

DTN News: Cyprus to Purchase Russian T-80U Tanks / Greek-Cypriots To Purchase Russian T-80U Tanks

(NSI News Source Info) NICOSIA, Cyprus - June 8, 2009: The government of the Greek-dominated portion of Cyprus plans to purchase new armored vehicles for its armed forces.

The T-80 is a main battle tank (MBT) designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union. A development of the T-64, it entered service in 1976 and was the first production tank to be equipped with a gas turbine engine for main propulsion (the Stridsvagn 103 only used a supplementary gas turbine by 1971). The T-80U was last produced in a factory in Omsk, Russia, while the T-80UD and further-developed T-84 continue to be produced in Ukraine. The T-80 and its variants are in service in Belarus, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, and Ukraine. The chief designer of the T-80 was the Russian engineer Nikolay Popov.

The T-80 main battle tank has been in production since the late 1970s. KBTM of Omsk, Russian Federation, manufactures the T-80U for general use in infantry and tank units and the T-80UK command tank and XKBM, Kharkov, Ukraine, manufactures the T-80UD and the T-84. 320 T-80UD tanks have been ordered from Ukraine by Pakistan, and are being delivered. In August 2002, it was announced that South Korea is to purchase from Russia a number of T-80 tanks.

Cyprus is the first foreign country to officially obtain T-80 tanks. Russia sold 27 T-80U and 14 T-80UK for $174 million to Cyprus. The tanks arrived in two batches. The first one consisting of 27 T-80U MBTs arrived in 1996 while the second one consisting of 14 T-80UK MBTs arrived in 1997. This significantly reinforced the army of this country the best tank of which up until then was AMX-30B2. New tanks also gave the Cypriot National Guard the edge in a possible confrontation with Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. As of now Cypriot government is interested in buying Ukrainian T-84 MBTs as, in the eyes of Cyprus, the Russians have demanded too much money for their T-80 tanks.

The Greek-Cypriot government will soon conclude a deal to acquire Russian-built tanks. Under this contract, Russia will deliver an unspecified number of T-80U tanks to the Greek-Cypriot National Guard.

The T-80U tanks are built by Omsk Transport Machine-Building Bureau. The island of Cyprus is divided into Greek and Turkish controlled sections.