EXPERIENCE AND TRADITION UNDER NEW CONDITIONS.

MOROZOV MACHINE-BUILDING DESIGN BUREAU (KHARKOV, UKRAINE).

T-84 AND T-72 TANKS.

Mikhail Borisyuk

General Designer, D. Sc. (Technology), Lieutenant General

nyone working in a field related to the construction of battle tanks and other armored fighting vehicles is familiar with the BT, T-34, T-54 and T-64 battle tanks and their numerous modifications. Manufactured and deployed in prewar and postwar years, when they gained great prominence, these hugely different vehicles were nonetheless engineered to reflect a set of common features.

T-84 series-produced battle tank

First, those tanks made up the backbone of the Soviet Union's armor and contributed to its distinctive image because they had been designed to outperform their rivals in terms of integrated fighting capabilities. Second, each of the aforementioned vehicles was created on the basis of thoroughly researched experience of operating their parent versions under battlefield conditions. And third, all the battle tanks were developed by a single design bureau, headed for 36 years by the outstanding battle tank designer A. Morozov. The organization is currently called the Kharkov Machine-Building Design Bureau (Russian acronym KhKBM).

In 1927, a team of designers at the Kharkov Locomotive Building Plant began to develop documentation for an agile battle tank. Over the past 70 years, the design bureau has grown to become a state-of-the-art enterprise with the capacity to develop, test and upgrade main battle tanks and their engineer-support derivatives. In the Soviet era, KhKBM was one of the principal developers of battle tanks. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, KhKBM became the leading organization in Ukraine and coordinated the overall effort aimed to build an entire range of armored combat vehicles.

Over the decades, the enterprise has raised generations of highly skilled specialists and acquired its own engineering expertise to ensure:
– advanced performance capabilities of its products compared with their counterparts;
– simple design and superior dependability;
– unorthodox engineering approaches.

Today, KhKBM is a diversified organization equipped to design, manufacture, and test prototypes of armored combat materiel. It has a staff of highly qualified design engineers, modern production facilities, and a proving range where newly manufactured vehicles can be tested in the field. The bureau's research base, which includes a comprehensive set of test benches, allows it to perform timely and reliable tests on design innovations of battle tanks and their tracked derivatives, thus considerably reducing their testing and updating.

Gunners station (T-84)

KhKBM supervises the series production of its developments at the state-run Malyshev Plant. Currently, the Malyshev Plant manufactures the T-80UD battle tank developed by KhKBM in the mid-1980s for the Soviet Army and produced since 1985. Disruption of the long-lasting cooperation links and absence of state defense orders in the early 1990s required that the enterprise wholly restructure its operations and establish new business links within Ukraine in order to sustain production lines. A focused effort was undertaken to engage a number of manufacturers that used to turn out components for aircraft, spacecraft, shipbuilding, automotive, and other industries.

Today, T-80UD battle tanks feature improved armor protection, a state-of-the-art fire control system, and improved ability to operate under weather extremes. All the systems, including the engine, run smoothly under ambient temperatures ranging from -40 to +55 oC.
The design bureau has been working hard to secure new customers. While in the past it was exclusively engaged to carry out state orders, KhKBM now attends all major international defense equipment shows. We are ready to demonstrate the capabilities of our products either at home or abroad.

**T-84 BASIC CHARACTERISTICS**
Combat weight, t	46.0
Crew	3
Engine type	6TD2
Power-to-weight ratio, hp/t	26.08
Operating ambient temperatures, oC from	-40 to +55
Specific ground pressure, kgf/cm2 Speed, km/h: – maximum – average	0.93 65-75 (depending on transmission type) 45
Endurance, km: – on highway – on dirt road	540 350 - 400
Negotiable obstacles: – gradient, deg – tilt, deg – trench, m – vertical obstacle, m – fording depth, m: without preparation with preparation	32 25 2.85 1.0 1.8 5
Armament: – gun – launcher – ammunition load, rds – AD machine gun – coaxial machine gun	125mm smoothbore 2A46M1 or KBA-3 43 (including 28 in rack) 12.7mm NSVT 7.62mm PKT
Explosive reactive armor	built-in
Optronic countermeasures system	Shtora-1

T-72MP battle tank (upgraded by KhKBM (Ukraine), PSP (Czech Republic), and SAGEM (France)

Although KhKBM designers are committed to supervise the production of its tanks, upgrading armor materiel remains their primary task.
During the 1990s, the production main battle tank was grown into the T-84 battle tank, retaining such standard features as missile/gun armament, autoloaders, a remote-controlled air defense machine gun mount, built-in explosive reactive armor and a two-stroke diesel engine with an ejection-type cooling system, while adding a more powerful (1,200 hp) engine, an optronic countermeasures system, an improved fire control system with an integrated heat imaging sight, a weld-rolled turret allowing for better crew safety and ease of handling more powerful ammunition, wading equipment to negotiate fords, 1.8 m deep, without preparation, accelerated reverse-gear transmission, and rubber-padded tracks, to say nothing of other enhancements.

Along with the sale of battle tanks, KhKBM and the Malyshev Plant will provide warranty and post-warranty service support for the delivered equipment, put in place dedicated overhaul and maintenance facilities, and supply spare parts and appliances as integrated complements of armored recovery vehicles and mobile workshops.

Mastering modern equipment is impossible without the use of training aids. Along with providing training to attending personnel, we offer instructional stands and sectionalized views of tank construction, as well as videos and simulators.

To prolong the useful life of the materiel and sustain its performance capabilities, our customers can profit from the relevant upgrades that we offer. KhKBM never lets up in its effort to improve its products.

Modernization of the fleet of obsolete combat vehicles is a particularly pressing issue. The high price of modern battle tanks forces many countries to seek ways to rejuvenate their armored forces in a more affordable manner. To meet the demand, KhKBM has over the last few years developed, manufactured, and tested a number of upgrade versions to improve mass-produced battle vehicles such as the T-72,
T-55, and T-54 tanks. Refits could be made to enhance targeted aspects of the tank or its overall performance capabilities, enabling the customer to define the most cost-efficient upgrading scheme.

Nowadays, with its tremendous experience, new developments and unflagging effort to find the best-possible schemes to serve the customer, the Kharkov Machine-Building Design Bureau continues to operate as a major world company in the area of building combat armor materiel. KhKBM seeks to raise the engineering level of its products and expand links, and is looking forward to cooperating with all interested legal entities.