The Russian-made T-80U continues to be actively used in the land forces of South Korea. In a recently released video, armored vehicles conducted training duels with K1E1 manufactured by the military industry of this state.
The fighting took place in a specially constructed city block at the nearby Combat Training Center (KCTC) training ground in Inje, Gangwon Province.
To make the equipment more realistic, it was equipped with laser simulators of shooting and destruction. The emitters were mounted in the barrels of guns, mounted on machine guns, including anti-aircraft guns. Sensors were attached to the armor, registering "hits".
Above the barrels of the guns appeared special grenade launchers, indicating the shots.
Such equipment gives a fairly high realism to what is happening, saves resources and ensures the safety of personnel.
The equipment from Omsk is in service with the 3rd armored brigade, acting as an"enemy". It consists of eight dozen T-80U and T-80UK.
They are involved in battles not only against South Korean M48A5K, K1 of various modifications, the latest K2 in the Black Panther, but also American Abrams.
Local tankers appreciate the "eighties" for their high maneuverability and high-speed characteristics. According to some sources, it was the acquaintance with these tanks in the 90s that inspired the military to start installing 120-mm smoothbore guns on the K1.
As for laser simulators of shooting and destruction, the first domestic developments in this area appeared in the late 70s. They, for example, were actively used in the well-known large-scale Soviet exercises "West-81".
Alexey Moiseev