In Summary
The Cypriot Government were the first to buy the T-80U in 1996, and the only official military to still use the base T-80Us today. This is a distinct Cypriot version of the base T-80U, opting for getting rid of the flashlight on the right side of the barrel (as seen on the Soviet T-80U and Swedish Trialed T 80 U in game) later in its service, upgrading it to include the Plisa System (The same used by the T-80UE-1) and mounting the 12.7mm PKT on the center-front mount, instead of the rear-right mount.
- Yes, as part of Israel
- Yes, as part of another Tree
- No
- as a Tech-Tree vehicle
- as a Premium vehicle
- as a Squadron vehicle
- as an Event vehicle
- I voted No
History
Our story unsurprisingly begins with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, which resulted in the many Post-Soviet countries in the “transition period” to suffer tremendous GDP Decline (for Russia, around 40% over 7 years). As a result, the Russian state had many Soviet-era T-80Us that they could offer to other countries with their not-so-shaky reputation. They offered their T-80Us to many countries including Sweden (now represented in game as the “T 80 U” Squadron Vehicle), but also to the Cypriot government who were desperate to get rid of their aging vehicles. At the time, the Cypriots had leftover T-34/85s from the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus, AMX-30/-30B2s from the French from 1987 and M48A5 MOLFs operated on behalf of Greece. As a result, the Cypriots needed a modern, battle-proven MBT to spearhead their army. The Russians needed a quick buck, the Cypriots needed a lifeline.
So in 1996, the Cypriots received their first 27 Cypriot T-80Us, then their 14 T-80UKs in 1997. They also purchased a further 41 refurbished T-80Us in 2010 to bolster their army and simplify logistics. Furthermore, the Cypriot T-80Us have been upgraded to include the 2nd generation Plisa Thermal Imager, most recognizably used on the T-80UE-1.
As of now, the Cypriot National Guard are planning to retire the T-80Us as Russian Sanctions have made it near-impossible to consistently maintain these MBTs for years to come. They’ve been eye-ing Israeli-made Merkavas, French-made Leclercs and Greek Leopard 2HELs. They have even offered giving Ukraine their T-80U and T-80UKs in exchange for Greek Leopard 2s.
Specifications
Crew: 3 (Driver, Gunner, Commander)
Engine: GTD-1250 Gas Turbine Engine, 1250hp
Weight: 46 tons
Max Speed: 90km/h Forward, 11km/h Reverse
Power-to-weight ratio - 27.2hp/t
Dimensions;
Length: 9.65 meters
Width: 3.6 meters
Height: 2.2 meters
Main Armament - “2A46M-1” 125mm Smoothbore Gun
- ¬ Vertical Guidance - -5° to 15°
- ¬ Vertical / Horizontal Rotation Speed - 4.4°/s | 24°/s
- ¬ 45 Rounds total, 28 Rounds in Autoloader, 6s Autoloaded Reload
- ¬ 3BM46 APFSDS
- ¬ 3BM42 APFSDS
- ¬ 3BK18M HEAT-FS
- ¬ 3OF26 HE
- ¬ 9M119 ATGM
Anti-Aircraft armament: 12.7mm NSVT MG
- ¬ 500 Rounds Total, 100 Rounds per Belt
- ¬ Vertical Guidance - -5° to 60°
- ¬ Vertical / Horizontal Rotation Speed - 90°/s | 90°/s
- ¬ 700 Rounds per minute
Co-Axial Armament: 7.62mm PKT MG
- ¬ 1250 Rounds Total, 250 Rounds per Belt
- ¬ 700 rounds per minute
Equipment;
- 2-Axis stabilisation
- Laser Rangefinder
- 2nd Gen. Thermal Imager for Gunner (2.7x to 12.0x Zoom) [Plisa]
- Night Vision devices for Commander and Driver (1.0x to 8.0x Zoom)
Sources
Archived from Deagel.com, showing that Cyprus received 27 T-80Us and 14 T-80UKs
T-80U | 25 Years of service in the National Guard and its upgrade options - Infographics & VIDEO | DEFENCE ReDEFiNED | News on Defence, Security and International Relations
Archived Report from 2008 showing that Cyprus had 41 T-80U/UKs total
France Positions to Equip Cyprus with Leclerc Tanks and Mistral Missiles in Response to Turkish Ambitions → Offer from France to replace T-80Us with Leclerc
SIPRI Arms Transfers Database → T-80Us supplied by Russia to Cyprus
International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance 2025
Kolekcja Czołgi Świata [Collection of Tanks of the World]
Steven Zaloga’s T-80 Standard Tank: The Soviet Army’s Last Armored Champion
Τ-80 U/UK: H ασπίδα της Κύπρου | Defencegreece
https://www.army-technology.com/projects/t80/
Поводырь для уставшей «восьмидесятки» - ВПК.name → Upgrade for Plisa in 2004, 12.1 million USD
Thank you very much to @Pipimer for giving me so many images of the Cypriot T-80U and T-80UKs that I’ve used for this suggestion!
T-80UK Suggestion → CNG T-80UK | Cyprus' red-eyed T-80UKs
T-80UK (w/o Plisa)
T-80UE-1 (Plisa)
Inside T-80UE-1, same board + display
