FORCETALLY
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At a glance
Challenger 2larger figure on 1 of 2
T-80larger figure on 1 of 2
Counts only measures both sources give with the same scope. A larger figure is not a better system.
Measured figures
Length
Single sourceGun forward
Single sourceConfiguration
| Specification | Challenger 2 | T-80 |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Main battle tank[source] | Main battle tank[source] |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom[source] | Soviet Union[source] |
| In service | 1998–present[source] | 1976–present[source] |
| Used by | British Army Royal Army of Oman Ukrainian Ground Forces[source] | See Operators[source] |
8.3 m (27 ft 3 in), 13.5 m (44 ft 3 in) gun forward[source]
Length
Single sourceGun forward T-80B
Single sourceT-80U
Single sourceT-80U Hull T-80B
Single sourceGun forward: 9.9 m (32 ft 6 in) T-80B, 9.654 m (31 ft 8.1 in) T-80U Hull: 7.4 m (24 ft 3 in) T-80B, 7 m (23 ft 0 in) T-80U[source]
Width
Single sourcewith appliqué armour
Single source3.5 m (11 ft 6 in), 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in) with appliqué armour[source]
Width
Single sourceT-80B T-80U
Single source3.4 m (11 ft 2 in) T-80B 3.603 m (11 ft 9.9 in) T-80U
Base mass; excludes the separately stated 75-tonne add-on armour configuration
Single sourceMass
Single sourcewith combat armour modules
Single source64 t (63 long tons ; 71 short tons ), 75 t (74 long tons; 83 short tons) with combat armour modules[source]
42.5 tons (T‑80B), 46 tons (T‑80U)[source]
Maximum; Maximum road speed
Single sourceMaximum; Off-road
Single sourceMaximum; On road
Single source37 mph (59 km/h) on-road, 25 mph (40 km/h) off-road[source]
Maximum; Cross-country
Single sourceMaximum; T-80U
Single sourceOperational; off-road on internal fuel
Single sourceOperational; On road
Single sourceRoad range; internal fuel
Single source550 km (340 mi) on-road, 250 km (160 mi) off-road on internal fuel[source]
Operational; road, with external tanks
Single sourceOperational; road, without external tanks
Single sourcePerkins CV12-6A V12 diesel 26.1 L (1,590 cu in)
Single sourcePerkins CV12-6A V12 diesel 26.1 L (1,590 cu in) 1,200–1,500 bhp (890–1,120 kW)[source]
SG-1000 gas turbine T-80B, GTD-1250 turbine T-80U, or one of 3 diesel T‑80UD T-80B
Single sourceT‑80U
Single sourceSG-1000 gas turbine T-80B, GTD-1250 turbine T-80U, or one of 3 diesel T‑80UD 1,000 hp T-80B, 1,250 hp T‑80U[source]
Bars compare reported quantities only. A larger figure does not make a system better; configurations and test conditions differ.
| Wars | UNMIBH Kosovo War Iraq War Russo-Ukrainian War[source] | August Coup 1993 Russian constitutional crisis First Chechen War Yemeni Civil War Russo-Ukrainian War 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present) Wagner Group rebellion[source] |
|---|
| Designer | Vickers Defence Systems[source] | Nikolay Popov , LKZ (T-80) KMDB (T-80UD)[source] |
|---|
| Designed | 1986–1993[source] | 1967–1975[source] |
|---|
| Manufacturer | Alvis plc Vickers plc BAE Systems Land & Armaments[source] | LKZ and Omsk Transmash , Russia Malyshev Factory , Ukraine[source] |
|---|
| Unit cost | £4,217,000 (FY 1999)[source] | US$3 million[source] |
|---|
| Produced | 1990 (prototypes) 1993–2002 (main production)[source] | 1975–2001 (T-80) 1987–present (T-80UD)[source] |
|---|
| No. built | about 447[source] | 5,500+[source] |
|---|
| Armour | Chobham / Dorchester Level 2 (classified)[source] | T-80B – Hull 440–450 mm vs APFSDS 500–575 mm vs HEAT , Turret 500 mm vs APFSDS 650 mm vs HEAT T-80U – Hull & turret with Kontakt-5 780 mm vs APFSDS 1,320 mm vs HEAT[source] |
|---|
| Main armament | L30A1 120 mm rifled gun with 47 rounds[source] | Smoothbore 125 mm 2A46-2 gun , 36 rounds and 4 9M112 Kobra ATGMs (T-80B) 2A46M-1 with 45 rounds and 6 9M119 Refleks ATGMs (T-80U)[source] |
|---|
| Secondary armament | 7.62 mm coaxial L94A1 chain gun 7.62 mm L37A2 loader–operator hatch machine gun[source] | 7.62 mm PKT coax MG , 12.7 mm NSVT or DShK or PKT antiaircraft MG[source] |
|---|
| Power/weight | 18.7 hp/t (13.9 kW/t) at 64 t; 16 hp/t (11.9 kW/t) at 75 t[source] | 23.5 hp (17.6 kW) / tonne T-80B 27.2 hp (20.3 kW) / tonne T-80U[source] |
|---|
| Transmission | David Brown TN54E epicyclic transmission (6 fwd., 2 rev.)[source] | Manual, 5 forward gears, 1 reverse T-80B, 4 forward, 1 reverse T-80U[source] |
|---|
| Suspension | Hydropneumatic[source] | Torsion bar[source] |
|---|
| Ground clearance | 0.5 m (1 ft 8 in)[source] | 0.38 m (1.2 ft) T-80B, 0.446 m (1.46 ft) T-80U[source] |
|---|
| Fuel capacity | 1,592 litres (350 imp gal; 421 US gal)[source] | 1,100 litres (240 imp gal) (internal) 740 litres (160 imp gal) (external)[source] |
|---|
| Variants | — | Engineering & recovery, mobile bridge, mine-plough with KMT-6 plough-type system and KMT-7 roller-type system.[source] |
|---|
| Reported operators |
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|---|
70 km/h (43 mph) (T-80U) 48 km/h (30 mph) (cross country)[source]
335 km (208 mi) (road, without external tanks) 415 km (258 mi) (road, with external tanks)[source]