Unsuccessful contract: how the T-64B1M tanks ended up in Africa

The main battle tanks of the T-64 during the Soviet era were operated only in the Soviet Army and were never exported.

After 1991, they remained in Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.

At the beginning of the noughties, a small batch was smuggled into the possession of the Angolan rebel group UNITA, but within a fairly short time, government troops managed to destroy them.

For the second time in Africa, the "sixty-fourth" appeared only in 2016 - in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This deal, concluded three years earlier, surprised many military experts. The fact is that before that the country bought T-55 and T-72AV in Ukraine.

It was expected that new contracts for the purchase of the T-72 would follow, but for some inexplicable reason, the Congolese military decided to purchase completely unfamiliar samples of equipment for them.

As the Oryx blog rightly notes [...], the introduction of a new type of main battle tank with a different engine design and incompatible parts significantly complicates the already fragile logistics system of the country and its armed forces. This is especially critical in the harsh conditions of the jungle, where wear is high, and spare parts may not always be available.

In total, 50 pieces of T-64B1M were ordered at a price of 200 thousand for one copy. Tanks have received a new built-in dynamic protection. A niche for property also appeared in the stern of the tower. The equipment for the use of guided weapons was dismantled.

As usually happens in Ukraine, problems began with the implementation of the agreements reached. In the autumn of 2014, under the pretext of the events in the Donbas, the first batch of ten cars ready to be sent to Africa was requisitioned by the National Guard.

Then there was a series of other scandals and criminal cases. After such misadventures, it is unlikely that anyone will have a desire to acquire such tanks.

Alexey Brusilov