Russia is considering restarting production of T-80 tanks, according to state-owned television channel Zvezda, which is run by the Defense Ministry.
Uralvagonzavod’s CEO, Alexander Potapov, stated that his business has been charged with restarting manufacture of T-80 tanks.
“This is the task, or at least the military has set it for us,’’ Potapov said in an interview with Zvezda.
Potapov went on to say that the tank manufacturer was working on the proposal with the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade.
According to the Zvezda article, the T-80 was especially valuable during Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
The word for Russia’s invasion of its neighbor was used in the Zvezda report.
The T-80 was produced in the Soviet Union beginning in 1976, albeit in far less quantities than the T-72, which was conceived before it but was still produced concurrently.
Around 10,000 T-80s are reported to have rolled off the assembly line before production was mainly suspended in favor of the T-90.
There are no specifics on when production would resume.
According to Potapov, additional production facilities are being discussed with the Industry Ministry.
Russia had suffered heavy losses during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has now lasted more than 18 months, losing more than 2,000 tanks, according to the investigative group Oryx.
