russian propaganda sources report that an updated BREM-80U armored recovery vehicle, based on the T-80U tank, was presented at a training ground in the Moscow region. The event, attended by the Deputy Chief of the Main Automotive-Armored Directorate of the russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Sergei Shaleniy, allegedly showcased improvements based on experience from the full-scale war against Ukraine.
The nuance of the situation is that such a vehicle is not in service with the russian army, and even an attempt to sell it to Cyprus failed.
Read more: Burning at Syria Coast For 4 Hours Straight, russian Scout Warship Kildin: Where Did It Come From
The BREM-80U shown at the test site has received additional protection and electronic warfare equipment. These attributes point to improvements based on the experience of russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. Moreover, russian occupiers need additional vehicles to evacuate tanks and other armored vehicles damaged in combat against the Armed Forces of Ukraine, restore them, and send them back into battle.
But the question arises as to the possibility of mass use of these BREM-80Us. According to some reports, russians may have had as few as five of these vehicles, most likely kept at storage bases.
In addition, a legitimate question arises as to whether Russia has enough T-80s to use as chassis for conversion into BREMs, even considering estimates that these tanks may not be depleted by 2026.
This issue can also be viewed from the perspective of "evacuation, recovery, and return to service." In other words, the focus is not only on how many additional BREM-80Us russian military industry can produce using chassis from decommissioned T-80 tanks, but also on whether these additional vehicles will help improve russia’s ability to restore tanks and other armored vehicles damaged in battles against the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On the other hand, russians may believe they have enough T-80 chassis to produce additional BREM vehicles, given that they have even used the RBU-6000 rocket launcher on tanks of this type.
Against this backdrop, we can also recall the story of how russians used the rare Ladoga vehicle in the spring of 2024, based on the T-80U, in the event of a nuclear war.
Earlier Defense Express reported about appearance of 'donkey forces' on frontline and kamikaze dogs.
Read more: North Korean Troops Are Back to Kursk Region, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Reveals How Many Are There
