Russia Refurbishing T-80 Tanks

▪️pro-Ukrainian commentators attempt to diminish the implications of T-80 refurbishment by claiming they aren’t “new,” however the tanks will have new guns, engines, fire control, explosive reactive armor, and optics making them for all intents and purposes “new;”

▪️The fact that the hulls and turrets are “old” is irrelevant since ERA will be placed on top of them to defend against modern anti-tank weapons;

▪️Refurbishment programs allow Russia to place huge amounts of armor on the battlefield in quantities Ukraine and its Western backers cannot;

▪️Ukraine also received refurbished tanks, including T-55s from Slovenia but in irrelevant numbers;

▪️Russia plans to eventually begin producing new T-80 tanks in addition to the refurbishment program;

▪️The obsession of Western commentators over “new” is another illustration of the West’s proclivity toward superficial “perfection” over practicality;