T 80 U (Sweden)

This page is about the medium tank T 80 U (Sweden). For other versions, see T-80 (Family).

T 80 U

T 80 U

Sweden

VIII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
11.0	11.0	11.0

Class:

SQUADRON

Medium tank

Research:570 000

Purchase:1 140 000

Show in game

Description

Following the end of the Cold War, and a subsequent de-escalation of the hostilities, Sweden planned to modernize its tank battalions. Trials were undertaken between 1991 and 1994. The T-80U, alongside the T-72M1, and other NATO tanks such as the M1A1, the Leclerc, and the Leopard 2A4, participated in these trials. The T-80U however joined very late to the trials, and was not properly evaluated unlike the other designs. The tank suffered from poor visibility and mobility, specially during night time where its optics were deemed much inferior to those fitted by western designs. However, the tank did have excellent protection, it was relatively easy to operate, it had a very powerful engine, and a good transmission that allowed very high top speeds without much crew discomfort. But in the end, the tank was not incorporated; instead, the Leopard 2A4 was adopted as the Strv 121.

Introduced in Update "Fire and Ice", the T 80 U was a contender in Swedish trials for a possible adoption of new tank in the 1990s, the T-80U is not too dissimilar from the Soviet T-80U. The most significant difference is the lack of 3BM46 APFSDS round for the cannon. While it lacks the most powerful kinetic round, it still has the same armour and mobility performance for players used to the T-80U playstyle to quickly acclimate to. It has also the same vulnerabilities: weak ammo racks, and a poor mobility at least compared to western designs. It uses a carousel autoloader, which means that the rounds are very exposed inside the vehicle.

General info

Survivability and armour

ERA

Effective action against the cumulative ammunition

Composite armour

Balanced protection against all types of ammunition

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

ESS

Creation of a smoke screen in the direction of movement of the vehicle

Self-entrenching equipment

Creation of ramparts and trenches in soft ground

Armourfront / side / back

Hull105 / 80 / 50

Turret180 / 160 / 65

Crew3 people

Visibility79 %

Just like any other Russian MBT, the ammunition is in the turret basket, the middle of the hull. Therefore ammo hits are extremly critical. The gunner and commander are inside the turret which is autoloaded. The commander can take over gun controls if the gunner is taken out. The driver is surrounded by fuel tanks as well as the engine and a part of the ammo stowage. Due to it's bad reverse speed it is relatively restricted when it comes to retreat.

Armour type: The whole Hull: High Hardness Armor, Inside armor: Front: Contact-5 ERA and composite armor | Turret: Cast Homogenous Armor, Contact-5 ERA on the turret face and upper back side of the turret, inside: composite armor | Sideskirts: High Hardness Armor (17 mm), Contact-5 ERA | Rubber sideskirts (10mm) | Some (not necessary) parts made of construction steel

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	105 mm	80 mm Top 20 mm Bottom	50 mm	20-50 mm
Turret	300 -1660 mm Turret front 20-250 mm Gun mantlet	150 -900 mm	65 - 1500 mm	45 - 650 mm
Cupola	45 mm	45 mm	45 mm	45 mm

Notes: The armor thickness varies a lot. The effective armor values are often higher than the actual part(steel) is thick.

Suspension: Suspension wheels are 20 mm; the tracks are 20 mm, the suspension itself is also 20 mm

Mobility

Motor: Klimov GTD-1250, Gas turbine | Power: 1106 horsepowers, 3154 rotations per minute

Gearbox: 9 gears forward, 1 gear backwards | Max speed forward: 70 km/h ( 43.5 mph) | max speed backwards: 11 km/h (6.8 mph)

Speedforward / back

AB78 / 13 km/h

RB and SB70 / 11 km/h

Number of gears9 forward

1 back

Weight46.0 t

Engine power

AB2 385 hp

RB and SB1 250 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB51.8 hp/t

RB and SB27.2 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	78	13	46	1,937	2,385	42.11	51.85
Realistic	70	11		1,106	1,250	24.04	27.17

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB4 181 → 7 208

RB4 101 → 7 070

SB4 816 → 8 302

Total cost of modifications288 100

470 000

Talisman cost3 100

Crew training310 000

Experts1 080 000

Aces2 200

Research Aces1 280 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

160 / 200 / 240 %

250 / 250 / 250 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 370 Suspension Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 300 Brake System Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 300 Filters Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 370 Transmission Research: 20 000 Cost: 31 000 490 Engine Research: 20 000 Cost: 31 000 490	Improved Parts Research: 4 500 Cost: 23 000 370 Dozer Blade Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 370 Improved FPE Research: 3 600 Cost: 18 000 300 Smoke grenade Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 300 NVD Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 370 Crew Replenishment Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 370 NVD upgrade Research: 20 000 Cost: 31 000 490 ESS Research: 20 000 Cost: 31 000 490	Horizontal Drive Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 370 Adjustment of Fire Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 300 Laser rangefinder Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 300 Elevation Mechanism Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 370 125mm_ussr_ATGM_ammo_pack Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 370 Artillery Support Research: 20 000 Cost: 31 000 490

Armaments

Laser rangefinder

Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder

Night vision device

Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.

Thermal imager

Allows to see thermal radiation in the infrared range day and night

Main armament

125 mm 2A46M-1 cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Autoloader

Automatically feeds projectiles into the breech. The speed does not depend on the skills of the loader

Ammunition45 rounds

First-order28 rounds

Reload6.5 s

Vertical guidance-5° / 15°

125 mm 2A46M-1					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Autoloader
Arcade	45	-5°/+15°	±180°	Two-plane	22.8	31.6	38.4	42.5	45.2	6.50
Realistic					14.3	16.8	20.4	22.6	24.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
3BK18M	HEATFS	550	550	550	550	550	550
3OF26	HE	42	42	42	42	42	42
3BM42	APFSDS	457	454	445	431	419	406
9M119	ATGM	700	700	700	700	700	700

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
3BK18M	HEATFS	905	19	0.05	0.1	2.79	65°	72°	77°
3OF26	HE	850	23	0.3	0.1	5.24	79°	80°	81°
3BM42	APFSDS	1,700	4.85	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°

Missile details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Range (m)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
								0%	50%	100%
9M119	ATGM	445	5,000	16.5	0.05	0.1	5.72	80°	82°	90°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the T 80 U (Sweden)

Full ammo	Ammo part	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty
45	Projectiles Propellants	45 (+0) 45 (+0)	44 (+1) 44 (+1)	43 (+2) 43 (+2)	38 (+7) 41 (+4)	37 (+8) 39 (+6)
6th rack empty	7th rack empty	8th rack empty	9th rack empty	10th rack empty*	Visual discrepancy
34 (+11) 38 (+7)	31 (+14) 37 (+8)	30 (+15) 30 (+15)	29 (+16) 29 (+16)	1 (+44) 1 (+44)	No

Notes:

• The T 80 U (Sweden) uses two-piece ammunition, composed of projectiles (yellow) and propellant bags (orange). Both have separate racks.
• Projectiles and charges are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
• The T 80 U's first stage ammo rack consists of a mechanized carousel at the bottom of the turret which carries 28 propellants and 28 projectiles.

Machine guns

12.7 mm NSVT machine gun

Ammunition500 rounds

Belt capacity100 rounds

Reload5.0 s

Fire rate700 shots/min

Vertical guidance-5° / 60°

7.62 mm PKT machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition1 250 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reload8.0 s

Fire rate700 shots/min

12.7 mm NSVT
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	500 (100)	700	-5°/+60°	±180°

7.62 mm PKT
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	1,250 (250)	700	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

The Swedish T 80 U plays just like its counterparts in the Russian tree, albeit without access to the more powerful 3BM46 APFSDS round. It is mobile and can fulfill the role of a good all-round MBT, and can serve as a good backup to the Strv 122s at top tier. It is worth noting that top APFSDS rounds that have close to 600mm of penetration can penetrate its front plate.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Ability to use ATGMs
• Has access to 1st generation thermal sights and a laser rangefinder for spotting and sniping
• Effective armour at its BR, protected by ERA effective against non-tandem ATGMs and some APFSDS rounds
• Effective acceleration in muddy terrain
• Consistent 6.5 second reload rate regardless of remaining crew and crew skill
• Lower BR gives it more favorable matchmaking

Cons

• Does not have access to 3BM46 unlike its Russian counterparts
• Slow reverse speed compared to its contemporaries in the Swedish tech tree
• Sluggish vertical targeting speed
• Frontal armour on the underbody of the vehicle does not protect against APFSDS projectiles at all
• Thermals are a separate mod from NVDs like its Russian counterparts

History

At the end of 1993, following the de-escalation after the end of the Cold War, the Swedish army created a programme for the procurement of new MBTs, and held a competition between different tanks. Both NATO and Russia participated, Russia was specially interested in securing a contract with the Swedish Army, since it had been forced to reduce its military spending after the Cold War.

The T-80U arrived late to the competition and was not able to directly compete with the M1A1 Abrams presented by the USA, the Leclerc by France, and the Leopard 2 by Germany. At the end of the competition, the government announced that the Leopard 2 would be acquired and would serve as Sweden's main battle tank during the following years. Thus the Leopard 2A4 was adopted (and later more modern versions) with some Swedish modifications and entered service as the Strv 121.

While some reports remain classified, some information about the reports was made available for the public.

• The results concluded that the T-80U was easy and quick to prepare for shallow fording.
• Its ability to reposition was severely limited thanks to its low reverse speed compared to NATO MBTs.
• The crew had good visibility during daytime but the driver struggled a lot when driving in darkness.
• Compared to the Strv 104, it was much faster to accelerate and had a much higher top speed. Its suspension was also very good and allowed high speed movement without much crew discomfort.
• Performance against obstacles was good, although limited by the lack of self-cleaning tracks, so it tended to lose traction.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the T 80 U (Sweden) from live.warthunder.com.

See also

• T-80UK
• T-80U

External links

• [Wikipedia] T-80
• [Swedish Tank Archives] - Report from terrain trials with T-80U
• [Defense Express] - Why T-72M1 and T-80U Tanks Lost to Leopard 2A4 during 1994 Tests in Sweden

Squadron ground vehicles
USA	M901 · M1A1 AIM
Germany	Leopard 2 PL
USSR	BMP-2M · T-80UK
Britain	Bhishma TWMP
China	Object 122MT "MC"
Sweden	T 80 U
Israel	Magach 6B Gal