Russian Pacific Fleet’s Coastal Defense Troops Receive Upgraded T-80BV Tanks

The Russian Pacific Fleet’s coastal defense troops took delivery of over 20 upgraded T-80BV tanks.

"A train with combat hardware arrived at a railway station in Vladivostok the other day. After the unloading operation, the combat vehicles escorted by military auto police were delivered on special platforms to the military unit’s auto pool," the Fleet’s press office said in a statement Friday.

The T-80BV features a gas turbine powerplant, for which it has been nicknamed "the flying tank." The combat vehicle can accelerate to over 70 km/h and cover a distance of about 500 km without refueling. The T-80BV has proven its worth in extreme Arctic conditions, which largely corresponds to harsh Far Eastern winters, Russian state media reported.

In 2018 and 2019, the Pacific Fleet’s Kamchatka and Primorye Marine Corps formations received ten T-80BV tanks each.