K2 Black Panther vs T-80: Specs Compared

K2 Black Panther — licensed reference photograph

ATanks

K2 Black Panther

Main battle tank

Reference photo · Configuration may differ

Credit

Staff Sgt. Jason Cochran · Public domain · Resized · Public domain · Source ↗ · Modified

BTanks

T-80

Main battle tank

Credit

Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation · CC BY 4.0 · Resized · CC BY 4.0 · Source ↗ · Modified

First system

Second system

At a glance

Side by side

Length comparisonOne shared metre scale

K2 Black PantherOverall

10.8 m

Length source ↗

T-80Gun forward T-80B

9.9 m

Length source ↗

Lengths retain their source configuration and measurement scope.

K2 Black Pantherlarger figure on 1 of 1

Width+6%

T-80larger figure on 0 of 1

None

Counts only measures both sources give with the same scope. A larger figure is not a better system.

Measured figures

Head to head

24 of 33 rows sourced on both sides

10.8mOverall

9.9mGun forward T-80B

LengthScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

7.5 m

Chassis

Single source

10.8 m

Overall

Single source

Overall: 10.8 meters (35 ft 5 in) Chassis : 7.5 meters (24 ft 7 in)^[source]

9.9 m

Gun forward T-80B

Single source

9.654 m

Length

Single source

7 m

T-80U

Single source

7.4 m

T-80U Hull T-80B

Single source

Gun 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]

3.6m

3.4m

Width+6%

All recorded figures & sources

3.6 m

Width

Single source

3.6 meters (11 ft 10 in)^[source]

3.4 m

Width

Single source

3.603 m

T-80B T-80U

Single source

3.4 m (11 ft 2 in) T-80B 3.603 m (11 ft 9.9 in) T-80U^[source]

2.4mHighest

2.2mT-80B, T‑80U

HeightScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

2.4 m

Highest

Single source

2 m

Lowest

Single source

Highest: 2.4 meters (7 ft 10 in) Lowest: 2 meters (6 ft 7 in)^[source]

2.202 m

T-80B, T‑80U

Single source

2.202 m (7 ft 2.7 in) T-80B, T‑80U^[source]

56tCombat weight

42.5 tons (T‑80B), 46 tons (T‑80U)

Mass

All recorded figures & sources

56,000 kg

Combat weight

Single source

55,000 kg

Curb weight

Single source

Curb weight : 55 metric tons (54 long tons; 61 short tons) Combat weight: 56 metric tons (55 long tons; 62 short tons)^[source]

42.5 tons (T‑80B), 46 tons (T‑80U)^[source]

3commander, gunner and driver

Crew

All recorded figures & sources

3 people

commander, gunner and driver

Single source

3 (commander, gunner and driver)^[source]

3 people

Crew

Single source

3^[source]

70km/hMaximum; Paved road

70km/hMaximum; T-80U

SpeedScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

50 km/h

Maximum; Cross country Acceleration from

Single source

70 km/h

Maximum; Paved road

Single source

Paved road: 70 km/h (43 mph) Cross country: 50 km/h (31 mph) Acceleration from 0–32 km/h (0–20 mph) in 7.47 seconds (MT883 Ka-501) or 8.77 seconds (DV27K)^[source]

48 km/h

Maximum; Cross-country

Single source

70 km/h

Maximum; T-80U

Single source

450kmOperational; Operational range

415kmOperational; road, with external tanks

RangeScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

450 km

Operational; Operational range

Single source

450 km (280 mi)^[source]

415 km

Operational; road, with external tanks

Single source

335 km

Operational; road, without external tanks

Single source

335 km (208 mi) (road, without external tanks) 415 km (258 mi) (road, with external tanks)^[source]

1,110kWEngine

932kWT‑80U

PowerScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

1,103 kW

Batch I: STX Engine/ MTU Friedrichshafen MT883 Ka-501 4- short stroke , 12-cylinder water-cooled diesel, dry weight: 2,064 kg Batch II-IV: HD Hyundai Infracore DV27K 4- long stroke , 12-cylinder water-cooled diesel, dry weight: 2,550 kg

Single source

1,110 kW

Engine

Single source

Batch I: STX Engine/ MTU Friedrichshafen MT883 Ka-501 4- short stroke , 12-cylinder water-cooled diesel, dry weight: 2,064 kg 1,500 hp (1,103 kW) Batch II-IV: HD Hyundai Infracore DV27K 4- long stroke , 12-cylinder water-cooled diesel, dry weight: 2,550 kg 1,500 hp (1,110 kW)^[source]

745.699872 kW

SG-1000 gas turbine T-80B, GTD-1250 turbine T-80U, or one of 3 diesel T‑80UD T-80B

Single source

932.124839 kW

T‑80U

Single source

Bars compare reported quantities only. A larger figure does not make a system better; configurations and test conditions differ.

Configuration

Details

K2 Black Panther and T-80 configuration
Specification	K2 Black Panther	T-80
Type	Main battle tank^[source]	Main battle tank^[source]
Place of origin	South Korea^[source]	Soviet Union^[source]
In service	2014–present^[source]	1976–present^[source]
Used by	See Operators^[source]	See Operators^[source]
Designer	Agency for Defense Development Hyundai Rotem Poongsan Corporation Hanwha Systems Samyang Comtech Hyundai WIA Doosan Mottrol^[source]	Nikolay Popov , LKZ (T-80) KMDB (T-80UD)^[source]
Designed	1995–2008^[source]	1967–1975^[source]
Manufacturer	Hyundai Rotem^[source]	LKZ and Omsk Transmash , Russia Malyshev Factory , Ukraine^[source]
Unit cost	₩ 7.8 billion (production batch 1) US$ 8.5 million (constant 2009 USD)^[source]	US$3 million^[source]
Produced	2008–present^[source]	1975–2001 (T-80) 1987–present (T-80UD)^[source]
No. built	Republic of Korea Army : Batch I: 100, Batch II: 106, Batch III: 54, Batch IV: 150 (ordered) Polish Land Forces : Batch I: 180, Batch II: 180 (ordered) Total: 440^[source]	5,500+^[source]
Armor	MIL-12560H armor steel and silicon carbide non-oxide ceramic plate along with ERA add-on armor^[source]	—
Main armament	Hyundai WIA CN08 120 mm 55 caliber smoothbore gun (40 rounds, 16 available in the bustle autoloader )^[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	1× 12.7×99mm NATO K6 heavy machine gun (3,200 rounds) 1× 7.62×51mm NATO coaxial machine gun (12,000 rounds)^[source]	7.62 mm PKT coax MG , 12.7 mm NSVT or DShK or PKT antiaircraft MG^[source]
Power/weight	27.3 hp/t (20.35 kW/t)^[source]	23.5 hp (17.6 kW) / tonne T-80B 27.2 hp (20.3 kW) / tonne T-80U^[source]
Transmission	Batch I-III: RENK HSWL 295 TM (5 forward, 5 reverse gears), dry weight: 2,450 kg Batch IV: SNT Dynamics EST15K (6 forward, 3 reverse gears), dry weight: 2,500 kg^[source]	Manual, 5 forward gears, 1 reverse T-80B, 4 forward, 1 reverse T-80U^[source]
Suspension	Semi-active in-arm suspension unit (ISU) with dynamic track tension system (DTTS)^[source]	Torsion bar^[source]
Fuel capacity	1,296 liters (342 U.S. gal)^[source]	1,100 litres (240 imp gal) (internal) 740 litres (160 imp gal) (external)^[source]
Wars	—	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]
Variants	—	Engineering & recovery, mobile bridge, mine-plough with KMT-6 plough-type system and KMT-7 roller-type system.^[source]
Armour	—	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]
Ground clearance	—	0.38 m (1.2 ft) T-80B, 0.446 m (1.46 ft) T-80U^[source]
Reported operators	—	Reported operator · Cyprus Reported operator · Pakistan Reported operator · Russia Reported operator · Ukraine

FORCETALLY

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K2 Black Panther

T-80

Type

Main battle tank^[source]

Place of origin

South Korea^[source]

Soviet Union^[source]

In service

2014–present^[source]

1976–present^[source]

Used by

See Operators^[source]

Designer

Agency for Defense Development Hyundai Rotem Poongsan Corporation Hanwha Systems Samyang Comtech Hyundai WIA Doosan Mottrol^[source]

Nikolay Popov , LKZ (T-80) KMDB (T-80UD)^[source]

Designed

1995–2008^[source]

1967–1975^[source]

Manufacturer

Hyundai Rotem^[source]

LKZ and Omsk Transmash , Russia Malyshev Factory , Ukraine^[source]

Unit cost

₩ 7.8 billion (production batch 1) US$ 8.5 million (constant 2009 USD)^[source]

US$3 million^[source]

Produced

2008–present^[source]

1975–2001 (T-80) 1987–present (T-80UD)^[source]

No. built

Republic of Korea Army : Batch I: 100, Batch II: 106, Batch III: 54, Batch IV: 150 (ordered) Polish Land Forces : Batch I: 180, Batch II: 180 (ordered) Total: 440^[source]

5,500+^[source]

Armor

MIL-12560H armor steel and silicon carbide non-oxide ceramic plate along with ERA add-on armor^[source]

—

Main armament

Hyundai WIA CN08 120 mm 55 caliber smoothbore gun (40 rounds, 16 available in the bustle autoloader )^[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

1× 12.7×99mm NATO K6 heavy machine gun (3,200 rounds) 1× 7.62×51mm NATO coaxial machine gun (12,000 rounds)^[source]

7.62 mm PKT coax MG , 12.7 mm NSVT or DShK or PKT antiaircraft MG^[source]

Power/weight

27.3 hp/t (20.35 kW/t)^[source]

23.5 hp (17.6 kW) / tonne T-80B 27.2 hp (20.3 kW) / tonne T-80U^[source]

Transmission

Batch I-III: RENK HSWL 295 TM (5 forward, 5 reverse gears), dry weight: 2,450 kg Batch IV: SNT Dynamics EST15K (6 forward, 3 reverse gears), dry weight: 2,500 kg^[source]

Manual, 5 forward gears, 1 reverse T-80B, 4 forward, 1 reverse T-80U^[source]

Suspension

Semi-active in-arm suspension unit (ISU) with dynamic track tension system (DTTS)^[source]

Torsion bar^[source]

Fuel capacity

1,296 liters (342 U.S. gal)^[source]

1,100 litres (240 imp gal) (internal) 740 litres (160 imp gal) (external)^[source]

Wars

—

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]

Variants

—

Engineering & recovery, mobile bridge, mine-plough with KMT-6 plough-type system and KMT-7 roller-type system.^[source]

Armour

—

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]

Ground clearance

—

0.38 m (1.2 ft) T-80B, 0.446 m (1.46 ft) T-80U^[source]

Reported operators

—

Reported operator · Cyprus
Reported operator · Pakistan
Reported operator · Russia
Reported operator · Ukraine