The South Korean army uses its T-80 main battle tanks and BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles as targets for testing its kamikaze drones at training grounds. The combat vehicles, acquired from the russian federation in the 1990s, appear to be in usable condition, judging by the photos first distributed by the South Korean media, and picked up by social network users.
The pictures taken during the drills depict the South Korean military utilizing at least two T-80s and one BMP-3 for such tests. This gives the photos perhaps unintentional implications as they come out just a few days after a reported Seoul's refusal to sell any weapons to Ukraine — because the latter operates both types of these vehicles on the frontlines of the war against russia.
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For starters, let's clarify the publicly available data on the South Korean inventory of these vehicles. The Military Balance 2024 assessment says that, as of the beginning of this year, the Republic of Korea's Army had 40 T-80 tanks and 40 BMP-3 IFVs in service. Though worth noting, the number of T-80s, for example, has dwindled from an initial 70 units since the 1990s primarily because this armored vehicle was used to simulate the enemy during various tactical exercises.
With that in mind, our first assumption is that the ROK Armed Forces could have selected the most worn-out vehicles for the tests, and despite their looks, on the inside, the combat units were no longer suitable even as demonstration models for military schools. Even so, however, Ukraine could put this worn armor to good use by disassembling it for spare parts which are always in high demand on the frontlines.
Secondly, we can assume that in its defense strategy against the North Korean regime, Seoul does not necessarily rationalize its decision-making based upon the maxim that "enemy of my enemy is my friend."
This could explain the surprising inertia of the South Korean government regarding any defense support for Ukraine, which transpires in plenty of discourses. Starting with the option of sharing a portion of the armored vehicles they had bought from russia, supplies of multi-million surplus 105mm mortar shells, and the most recent reluctance to sell their weapons, a stance that does not add up with Korean aggressive pursuit of global markets elsewhere.
Speaking of purely technical aspects of this episode, the idea itself of using Soviet-type T-80s and BMP-3s to test their kamikaze drones is actually quite smart from the ROK military command. The drones and their pilots need to be trained to take down North Korean armored vehicles, which are entirely based on Soviet developments.
Read more: South Korea Might Hand Over T-80U and BMP-3 to Ukraine
