The T-80BVM (Object 219RV-M) is the current spearhead of the Russian Army as the T-80BV upgraded in the late 2010s by Omsktransmash. The idea for such upgrade was likely based on the other latest MBT of Russian Army, the T-90M, which was first shown in the early 2010s as the future baseline of T-90 tanks with improved FCS, gun-laying motors, and new gun system compatible with new ammunition. In the T-80BVM's case, all front-side ERA is replaced by new Relikt ERA with better overall protection and it now shares the similar, arrowhead design of ERA placement as the T-72B3, while the sides were covered by 4S24 ERA packages (for more recent productions). The gun system is also revised to fit the latest Russian ammunition, new full-electric gun laying motors to update the tank to latest MBT standards, new French-based/domestic TVD gun sights, as well as replacing the original gas turbine engine with the higher output GTD-1250 from T-80U. Since 2018, the new T-80BVM has become the new standard for the remaining fleet of T-80BV in Russian arsenal and one of the icons of Russian Army in the 2020s.

Introduced in Update "Red Skies", the T-80BVM is a significantly upgraded T-80B. Although the T-80B is an older variant than the previous T-80U, this upgrade package is more than enough to bring it to par. Distinctive arrays of third-generation "Relikt" ERA offer high protection against both chemical and kinetic rounds, the gun can now fire top-notch 3BM60 "Svinets" APFSDS and 9M119M1 "Refleks" ATGMs with improved handling, and the engine has been upgraded to the T-80U's 1,250 horsepower. The T-80BVM once again achieves a triple threat of high protection, firepower, and mobility on top of a low profile, making it an excellent capstone for the T-64/T-80 line.

The armour protection of the T-80BVM is one of the best, especially if the incoming round hits one of the Relikt ERA plates which are twice as effective as Kontakt-5 against kinetic projectiles (meaning that the Leopard 2A6, one of the most dangerous opponents, cannot easily penetrate the UFP). The strongest parts of the tank are the turret front and a majority of the upper front plate. It does, however, have some weaker areas, the most important being the driver's hatch, the immediate areas of the turret surrounding the gun and its breech, and its lower frontal plate. These weak spots are however pretty small targets at range, and thus by hiding them properly, the risk of being hit can be minimized. Owing to its very low profile, a hull-down T-80BVM is a small target in itself; the weaker parts of its armour are even smaller.

Fuel tanks on either side of the driver can soak up some shrapnel and add to the overall survivability. However, as with all Russian auto-loaded MBTs, there are only three crew members so a well-placed shot is capable of causing a crew knock-out. It's also worth noting that the placement of the ammo rack, below the turret in a carousel-style setup, leaves the T-80BVM particularly vulnerable to side shots causing ammunition detonation. The protection of the T-80BVM is very similar to the T-80U in terms of the size and placement of the weak areas. The sides of your tank should always be protected, and when engaging an enemy, your front armour should always be aligned directly towards him to reduce the risks of a shot tearing through your weaker side. The tank does, however, have some Relikt ERA plates on its upper front skirts, meaning that you have some extra protection against KE penetrators, and a lot against chemical shells, until the ERA bricks are detonated (leaving the area vulnerable for another hit).

As mentioned above, the T-80BVM also benefits from the typical low silhouette Russian tankers will be accustomed to, with the vehicle being significantly smaller than its competitors. This allows the T-80BVM to be hidden behind small terrain deformities which other MBTs would otherwise be visible. It's also harder for an enemy tank commander to immediately tell which area is the most vulnerable.

The turret ring is also slightly tilted forward giving the tank an extra degree of depression when facing the turret forward.

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Overall mobility is good, it can easily keep up with most top-tier MBTs.

The T-80BVM has access to the 2A46M-1 125 mm smoothbore main gun. This gun fires the same ammunition as the previous T-64 and T-80 models but with new projectiles such as the 3BM60 "Svinets-2" APFSDS round and the 9M119M1 "Invar-M" ATGM, a modernized 9M119 "Svir" with a tandem charge and a slightly reduced speed. The T-80BVM has excellent gun handling on par with tanks such as the M1A2 and Leopard 2A6. It also has a steady reload rate at 6.5 seconds.

The T-80BVM has access to capable rounds, able to destroy any enemy tank or vehicle it faces at the battle rating. Its most notable round is the powerful 3BM60 "Svinets-2" APFSDS.

3BK18M, HEAT-FS - The 3BK18M is one of the first rounds the T-80BVM has access to, it can be considered a mediocre round for close to medium range as most of the enemies which will be faced will be able to withstand it due to composite armour. However, it is particularly useful when facing light armoured vehicles which are prompt to overpressure (SPAA, light tanks, etc) and useful when facing enemy helicopters as it has enough explosive mass and flight speed to be competitive as last resort. As a hollow charge, it is prompt to detonate mid air due to trees, bushes and fences. This makes the round difficult to use when in long range engagements as some field elements (forage, objects, etc.) may not be rendered and the round's velocity make aiming harder.

3OF26, HE-FS - A familiar and useful stock round of 125 mm gun, the 3OF26 pack big amount of explosive filler that can kill light vehicles and overpressure hull down MBT with precision shots. As a high explosive, it is prompt to detonate mid air due to trees, bushes and fences. Its suitable for close range combat and terrain with less trees and bushes.

3BM42, 3BM60, APFSDS - The T-80BVM has access to 2 types of APFSDS: the 3BM42 and 3BM60. The 3BM42 is a decent round with decent penetration and stopping power. While it lacks penetration to penetrate Leopard 2 tanks, Leclercs or M1A1/2 turret plates, it has enough penetration to hit and cause critical damage in weak spots and side shots. The 3BM60 however, different from the 3BM42, has much more penetration which can penetrate all tanks from all sides (be aware of Leopard 2 turret wedges and firing at M1A2 turret with an obliquity greater than 45°).

9M119M1, ATGM (tandem) - The 9M119M1 is a tandem version of the previously seen 9M119 ATGM. The main upgrade is the tandem charge, everything else remains practically the same with exception of reduction of flight speed.

The 12.7 mm NSVT machine gun, seen on all previous Soviet MBTs, can help take out some lightly armoured vehicles from the side as well as to destroy low-flying aircraft and helicopters.

The coaxial 7.62 mm PKT machine gun however is lacking against enemy vehicles, it still can mow down some small bushes and fences to provide better view or use it to help pin enemies.

The T-80 family is known to be the first serial tanks to use gas turbine engines to propel the tank itself, earning its nickname "Flying Tank" and also marked one of its good traits - its mobility. T-80BV retained the same GTD-1000 from the previous B series while BVM upgraded its engine packs to GTD-1250 used on T-80U at higher engine output; not only this migrates the weight problem caused by extra protection and new gun systems, it can still push T-80BVM at up to 70 km/h on road. This might not be the fastest MBT in-game, but the output and power-to-weight ratio ensures T-80BVM will arrive the battle at a relatively fast pace than the T-72 series. The other traits of T-80 series is the overall good protection, especially against HEAT shells; some might even refer the tank as a fortress thanks to all the Relikt (Relics) ERA packages on the UFP and turret front, the baseline T-80BV has T-80U equivalent base protection while BVM further enhance the protection at average of 780 mm RHAe; this is currently the highest protection among all Russian-era MBTs in-game, tanks at lower tier, especially when stock, will be hopeless against T-80BVM with its lower glacis hidden from sight; the sides are covered by Relikt packages at lesser protection, but once upgraded to the "UBH" packages, the sides will also be covered by the "soft" 4S24 ERA packages extended to the center of the tank which protected the tank even from the sides at angles. While the turret is covered by Relikt as mentioned, the turret is in fact the same design from T-80B with lesser composite armor coverage, oncoming shots will still have the chance to completely disable the turret or the gun. For firepower, the gun is now replaced by the new 2A46M-1 and revised autoloader for new Russian ammunitions including the 3BM60 APFSDS and 9M119M1 ATGM; in most cases, unless T-80BVM runs into ZTZ99 series or Strv 122 series, the selection of both high-velocity APFSDS and tandem ATGM is more than enough to defeat NATO tanks from long distance, which is further enhanced by the new FCS with 3rd generation TVD and sufficient magnification. Sometimes, when players run into a sudden strike, some enemies will leisurely turn their gun onto T-80BVM from the stereotypes of the inferior gun handlings, this problem has been eliminated on T-80BVM thanks to the new electric gun laying motors that could travel up to 40° bi-directional. With these traits, some might even consider T-80BVM as an undefeatable fortress; but there are still some Achilles heels to be exploited with.

A tradition for Warsaw-Pact tanks are the rather poor gun-depression due to the low-profile turret design, at only -5° in this case; it will cause problems at complicated terrains or when the tank is crossing road embankments if players did not traverse the turret fast enough, enemies behind terrains will also take this as an exploit to defeat T-80BVM as the lower glacis is nowhere as protected. Another problem goes to the long-lasting design philosophy; Soviet tankers has referred their crew of 3 as the result of Tri Tankista (Three Tankers; a song in 1939) since T-64, for a tank with autoloader, 3 tankers are more than enough to engage enemies with even one less crew; but this also means that 2 crew losses equal to a knock-out, this is especially true when the tank was hit from the sides as the tank is rather cramped and the turret crews are parallel to each other. While the carousel autoloader maintained consistent reload rate at around 6.5 seconds, it is also infamous for being the most dangerous part of the tank; any hits on the propellent will very likely cause chain reactions and detonates the remaining propellent, either knocking out the crews right away or in the worst case: jack-in-the-box effect (catastrophic kill or k-kill) that vaporize the vehicle and sending the turret hundreds of meters away. This further worsen by the relatively slow reverse speed at only 12 km/h as this gives enemies enough time to aim for the lower glacis where the carousel is just behind the driver.

Overall, T-80BVM does fit its purpose to assault enemies at high crossroad speed and higher power-to-weight ratio thanks to its weight, as well as good overall protection and sufficient gun systems; but players would have to be extra careful not exposing the sides to the enemies or keeping the gun operational at all cost - either mistakes will end the service of T-80BVM rather quickly.

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The T-80BVM is a current program for the Russian army in the modernization of Soviet T-80BV tanks to the level of the T-72B3 and T-90M main battle tanks, as well as unification with them. The modernization includes an up-to-date fire control system with a duplicate sight for the commander, and the ability to operate the 9M119 tandem ATGMs, as well as the "Relikt" ERA pack instead of outdated "Kontakt-1". Thanks to the latter, the protection of the vehicle from HEAT and AP projectiles was significantly increased.

The modernization of the T-80BVM takes place at the facilities of the Omsk heavy machinery plant (Omsktransmash) and enter service with units of the marines and motorized infantry of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

- Taken from Devblog.

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