Many developmental tank designs had been in play since the close of World War 2 (1939-1945) for the Soviets and many of these went on to lay the foundation of Soviet tank technologies to come. In the late 1960s, thought was already being given to a new design built upon the inherent strengths of the T-64. As the T-64 was considered something of a "state secret" in terms of its technology and capabilities, it was not openly exported as the T-72 was.Īs such, the T-64 remained the principle high-tech Soviet Main Battle Tank to lead the Red Army onto victory in the event of total war across Europe. Soviet tank doctrine called for both tank types to serve concurrently and allowed for financial flexibility in the long term. The T-72 was then developed in short order as a simpler, economical counterpart to the T-64, though it ended up surpassing the T-64 in both numbers and world popularity (some 25,000 T-72 tanks were produced to the 13,000 T-64s). Its arrival certainly forced the West to take notice as it represented the most modern Red Army tank of the time. The T-64 incorporated an automatic loader coupled to a 125mm smoothbore main gun capable of firing guided anti-tank missiles. In 1963, the Red Army began use of the T-64 Main Battle Tank which formed the spearhead of Soviet armor strength during the critical years of the Cold War. The T-90 (based on the T-72) maintains the primary position in the modern Russian Army, leaving the T-80 as something of an interim solution at best, a measure serving to bridge the gap between the expired Soviet-era T-64 and modern Russian Federation T-90. While still in active service today (2012), the days of the T-80 as a frontline battlefield solution are coming to an end as its available numbers are continually reduced with each passing year. The end result, the first production tank to utilize a gas turbine engine, proved a limited success with numbers never reaching those of its predecessor nor the overtly popular T-72. The type was a further evolution of the T-64 line with elements of the successful T-72 added for promising measure.
The T-80 of the Russian Army was born in the era of the Soviet Empire during the Cold War.
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