M-84 (MBT)

History of the M-84 (MBT)

In January 1946, Yugoslavia accepted a communist government allied with the Soviet Union. This made possible political and military links with the Soviet Empire, so Yugoslavia obtained a local production license to produce the new 1971 T-72 main battle tank as the M-84 (slightly modified to suit the needs of the Yugoslav army).

The original T-72 was developed as an economy-oriented end product to complement the Red Army's more expensive T-64, as only top Red Army front-line units would receive a limited number of T-64s. The T-72 was then offered for export, and through this effort the T-72 proved to be extremely popular, with more than 25,000 produced worldwide (by comparison, the T-64 was produced at just 13,000 and was never sold overseas).

Local production of the T-72 is also taking place in Poland and Czechoslovakia.

Beginning with the T-72, design work on the indigenous Yugoslav M-84 continued from 1979 to 1983. The first prototypes were built in 1982 and 1983. The tank uses a locally developed Fire Control System (FCS) with an upgraded 1,000 hp diesel engine over the original 780 hp T-72 configuration. Armor protection has been improved and composite alloys are used more widely.

The tank retains the powerful 125mm smoothbore main gun and its autoloader, which reduces the combat crew from four (common in Western tanks) to three (commander, gunner and driver). Externally, the M-84 presents the same general appearance as the T-72, including its low profile (thanks in large part to the two-man turret and autoloader). Likewise, the running gear consists of six twin-tire rubber-coated wheels on one side of the track, with a drive sprocket at the rear and a chain idler at the front. Side skirt armor is placed on the upper part of the armored treads to provide basic protection.

The M-84's body features a torsion bar suspension that provides excellent off-road capability. The range is 700 km and the top speed is 68 km/h.

The 125mm 2A46 smoothbore main gun is the same tank gun mounted on the T-72 and the upcoming T-80 for the Russian Army. The ship's loadout allows to carry 42x125mm projectiles, usually a mix of different types of armor-piercing warheads (HE-FRAG, HEAT-FS and APFSDS-T). Additionally, the gun can fire guided anti-tank missiles from the barrel, a major element of Soviet-Russian tank design but never fully adopted in the West.

Using the automatic loading dial, projectiles and charges are loaded one at a time from two rungs, and the type of ammunition is electronically selected by the gunner at the command of the commander. A heavy 12.7mm machine gun mounted on the commander's dome (to the right of the top of the turret) can handle low-flying aerial threats. By default, a 7.62mm machine gun is mounted coaxially next to the main gun. Carried 300 rounds of 12.7mm ammunition and 2,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.

Smoke grenade launchers are stored in the front of the turret, with 5 on the right and 7 on the left.

After the necessary trials, the M-84 was officially accepted by the Yugoslav Army and introduced in 1984 (hence the name). The production time span was from 1984 to 1991, and about 652 samples were produced. The M-84 was only exported to the Kuwaiti army, with less than 200 delivered in total.

At this time, the local political climate in Yugoslavia had changed significantly after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. As a result, Yugoslavia entered a period of continued unrest, leading to various "Yugoslav wars" in the 1990s.

From the ashes of the fighting were born the nations of Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, and Slovenia. Various wars also reduced much of the expected production of the M-84 tank.

The original Yugoslav M-84 production designation turned out to be "M-84A". A version of the Armored Rescue Vehicle (ARV) became the "M-84AI". The first major upgrade to the M-84 series was the "M-84AB", which introduced an improved fire control system, an integrated laser rangefinder and various modern optics. The related version M-84ABN introduced new navigation equipment.

The command tank version of the M-84AB - equipped with additional communications equipment - became "M-84ABK".

With the disintegration of Yugoslavia, the now independent country inherited the existing stockpile of existing M-84 tanks and eventually worked to adapt them to the needs of the local army. Serbia has further developed its product portfolio to produce the "M-84AS" designation with a new fire control system, new armor scheme, Agava-2 thermal imaging equipment, 1,200 hp diesel engine and support for the Russian "Kontakt 5" Serial explosive reactions include Armor Blocks (ERA). Additionally, the main gun now supports the updated Russian AT-11 "Sniper" anti-tank missile. Like modern tanks of the Russian army, the Serbian M-84 uses the "Shtora" missile defense system.

First introduced in 2004, the M-84AS shares similarities in equipment and capabilities with the Russian Army's T-90S variant.

Croatia went in its own direction, creating the exact M-84A4 "Sniper" brand. This version features an improved fire control system, new optics and a new 1,100-horsepower engine. The M-84A4 brand was later adopted as the new standard main battle tank for the Croatian Army. Recently, the Croatian Army developed the "M-84D" as a new standard. Supports ERA block armor and adds a Remote Weapon Station (RWS) to the Commander's Cupola, allowing machine guns to be fired from the safety of the vehicle.

A new 1,200-horsepower diesel engine was chosen and the communications package was upgraded. The autoloader has been further optimized to increase the rate of fire. The official adoption of the M-84D trademark is said to be sometime in 2011.

Croatia is developing the M-95 "Degman" as the chosen successor to the M-84, a program that has been in operation since the mid-1990s. The M-95 is a direct modernization of the M-84 system (hence the descendant of the T-72) with a completely new composite/reactive armor protection scheme.

However, as of 2012, the project was limited to two completed prototypes, with the long-term intention to procure about 40 M-95 tanks for the Croatian army.

The M-84 was readily available during the Yugoslav wars in the 1990s, and has not had a long history of combat in the conflict. Guerrilla tactics proved popular against enemy tanks, resulting in a significant reduction in M-84 inventories, especially when the armor lacked supporting infantry to protect them.

The Soviet army and its new T-80 MBT also proved this in the first Chechen war, where hundreds of people were attacked by rocket-propelled grenades from every angle in an urban combat environment.

The Kuwaiti Army received the M-84 (M-84AB) prior to the 1991 Gulf War. However, these stocks were largely excluded from front-line combat due to their similarity to the T-72. Kuwait eventually procured 149 M-84 tanks and several versions of the Command Tank (ABK).

The Yugoslav army operated around 450 M-84 tanks before the country's disintegration. Of these, Bosnia and Herzegovina received 16 M-84 tanks, while the Croats claimed to have about 84. Serbia maintains a healthy and stable 212 M-84 tanks in four active battalions.

Slovenia received 54 M-84 tanks after the division.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

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Armor

12 x Smoke Grenade.

Changes