Image source: Photo: "Bravery2004", Vitaly V. Kuzmin
A T-80 with a 152 mm cannon would not be superfluous during a special military operation. Unfortunately, the development of this promising combat vehicle, designated Object 292, was discontinued in the early 90s due to lack of funding.
As the specialists involved in this development told the author of the publication at the time, the big plus was the improved welded tower mounted on the chassis, which was already well mastered by industry. This significantly reduced the cost of the combat vehicle.
Image source: Photo: "Bravery2004", Vitaly V. Kuzmin
EMBT with 140 mm cannon
At the same time, instead of a 1,250-horsepower turbine, a gas turbine engine with a capacity of 1,500 hp could be used. This power plant was successfully tested at that time and also did not go into mass production due to lack of funds.
The main innovation of this version of the T-80 was the powerful 152 mm LP-83 cannon. Its capabilities made it possible not only to fight the main enemy battle tanks, such as the Leopard 2, but also to provide fire support to motorized infantry. At the same time, unlike self-propelled guns with howitzers of the same caliber, the new Leningrad machine had powerful anti-projectile armor.
Image source: Photo: "Bravery2004", Vitaly V. Kuzmin
KF-51U with 130 mm cannon
Object 292 will be remembered more and more often now, as the potential enemy has samples made on the Leopard 2 chassis with 130 and 140 mm guns. They were recently demonstrated in France at the Eurosatory 2024 exhibition.
Unlike the Chinese, who have also recently introduced promising equipment, the Europeans are not thinking of giving up tanks weighing 55-60 tons. They intend to equip their new products with drones, active protection complexes, as well as installations capable of effectively countering UAVs. It is premature to say that the age of tanks has expired. They will simply become different, better adapted to the realities of modern war and the conflicts that await humanity in the future.
Lev Romanov
