Though overshadowed in Pakistani Army (PA) service by the indigenous Al-Khalid, the T-80UD is indispensable. While no longer the most modern or technologically advanced PA MBT, it will remain the most numerous modern MBT until surpassed by Al-Khalid production. Even then, it will continue to serve in the PA as a key armoured asset for many years to come.
By the time the Cold War ended the PA MBT fleet, (mostly Type-59s), was facing mass obsolescence, and faced with a huge number of Indian Army T-72s. The Pakistani MBT modernisation programme undertaken with the co-operation of the Chinese (up-grade - Type-59; license production - Type-69/Type-85IIAP; and indigenous design/manufacture – MBT-2000/Al-Khalid) was proceeding too slowly and there was the danger that Pakistan would fall too far behind for it to be able to catch up with its limited financial resources. Hoping to purchase a stopgap advanced MBT, Pakistan settled on the T-72. Despite the terrible reputation it earned for itself in the 1990s, largely due to the 1991 Gulf War and debacle in Chechnya, not to mention the auto-loader's established reputation for 'eating' gunner's arms, the T-72 was not a bad choice. It could cope with the extremities of the Pakistani climate, especially the fiercely hot deserts which have become increasingly important in terms of armoured warfare. Russia, the manufacturer of the T-72, was almost destitute and quite willing to sell tanks to a former adversary from the Afghan War for much needed hard cash. The T-72s were very cheap, more advanced than most current PA tanks, and importantly, available very quickly on payment. It was everything Pakistan was looking for. Under the circumstances what was better to counter an MBT threat than to acquire the same model for oneself? Unfortunately for Pakistan, Indian pressure forced Russian to abandon the deal. Even though the Type-85IIAP (designed by the Chinese specifically to combat the T-72), was more than a match for the T-72, it was not available in sufficient numbers. Under nuclear related sanctions from its former ally and provider of much needed modern military technology, America, the options were diminishing. The UK had large numbers of surplus Chieftain's but they were deemed over-priced, old and unreliable. They were also considered unsuitable for the harsh Pakistani climate and terrain they would be expected to operate in. Furthermore, the UK was not judged too reliable a supplier, (an important factor considering Pakistan's history of sanctions).
Matters were not looking good, but it was at this point that Ukraine offered the solution, the T-80UD. The Ukraine had been an important province of the Soviet empire, and independence saw it left with vast stocks of ex-Soviet military hardware that it was more than willing to sell. More importantly in terms of long-term economic health, it possessed the huge Morozov tank factory/design bureau at Kharkiv, which had been the main builder of the best of the Soviet MBTs, the T-80. At the time of the collapse of the USSR, the plant had been building the latest model, the T-80UD that had a diesel engine instead of the gas turbine of the T-80U. Pakistan was very impressed with what it saw when the T-80UD was trialled in Pakistan in 1993 and 1995, and thought the T-80UD to be clearly superior to the T-72. It signed a deal for 320 T-80UDs from the Ukraine in August 1996, and 52 Soviet Army T-80UDs, which had been completed but undelivered, formed part of the first batch delivered in 1997.
...
Special thanks to Major M Khan, Major Aurangzeb ISPR. Officers and men 1 Armoured Division/41 Horse.
