“Some of the tanks have been idle for more than 30 years. We have to change their rubber parts, electrical wiring, electric operating mechanisms and even engines, because they might have got out of order for this time,” says Viktor Kozonak, Director of a Kharkiv-based plant where the tanks are repaired.
Over two months Kharkiv armour repair plant has been working overtime. Here Soviet-era T-80 tanks are being rebuilt. It had been the main battle tank in the Soviet Union since the late 70s. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry ordered to de-preserve old Soviet depots of military machines. The exact number of combat vehicles that will be back in operation is not mentioned.
Most tanks that were stationed at the depots of defense enterprises and military units are in a very bad state, they need deliberate repairing. For decades the military machines have been left out in the open; removing electric motors, individual modules and wiring from tanks was standard practice; their rubber elements have became useless.
Soviet T-80 tanks are not only being restored, but also upgraded. Helicopter engines which allow the tank to reach the speed of 70 km / h off the road are being installed on some machines.
