If there was a rating of tanks-losers, then the Ukrainian BM "Oplot" would surely take the first place in it. His entire short career is accompanied by failures and scandals.
The Thai military refused further purchases of such equipment. The contract concluded with Ukraine was constantly under threat of failure, and all 49 cars were received much later than planned.
As a result, Bangkok, not wanting to take any more risks, signed a deal with its long - time partner in the military field-China. Pakistan did the same.
In 2018, the Americans already wanted to get one copy for study, but they did not wait for anything.
Despite the repeated statements of officials about the imminent mass production, it turned out that without the critical spare parts purchased in Russia before 2014, the production of "Oplots" is currently simply impossible.
By the parade held on August 24 in Kiev in honor of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's independence, it was somehow possible to assemble a couple of cars from a long-standing reserve, to which a demonstration sample that had existed for more than a decade was added.
At the first rehearsal, it turned out that one of the tanks was hastily pasted with masking tape, which was supposed to depict pixel camouflage. However, this embarrassment, which caused a wave of caustic ridicule, is a trifle compared to what happened later.
During the next run, one of the "Strongholds" stood up tightly, and, as some sources reported, fuel flowed out of it. A malfunction noticed in time almost led to a fire.
The breakdown became so serious that the tank was excluded from further participation in the festive events and a modernized T-64BM2 drove through Khreshchatyk instead.
Alexey Brusilov
