Thailand Deploys Unique Soviet-Ukrainian T-84 Tanks Against Cambodian Positions

Following the outbreak of open hostilities between Thailand and Cambodia on July 24 due to longstanding territorial disputes, the Royal Thai Army was confirmed to have deployed T-84 main battle tanks to assault Cambodian positions near the two countries’ borders. Operations near the base of Phra Wihan have been confirmed, with Thai sources claiming the tanks were relied on to “reclaim lost ground.” Developed in Ukraine in the 2000s, the T-84 is an enhanced derivative of the Soviet T-80UD main battle tank, which was one of the most capable tank designs of the late Cold War era.

Although providing distinct superiority over Cambodia’s ageing T-55 tanks, the T-84 is highly limited in its capabilities particularly compared to modern Russian T-80 variants such as the T-80BVM, which not only have higher mobility due to the use of gas turbine engines, but also use much more advanced armour protection systems and munitions.Ukraine’s failure to develop a modern armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS) projectile after the Soviet collapse means the T-84 it still relies on the BM42 Mango with 450mm penetration at 2000m ranges against homogenous armour as its most formidable anti-tank projectile, which is insufficient to penetrate even the base frontal armour of most modern tank classes.

The Royal Thai Army is the only service to field full regiments’ worth of T-84s, with only around half a dozen of the tanks fielded in the Ukrainian Army due to insufficient funding for larger scale procurements. The Thai Defence Ministry placed an order for 49 tanks in 2011, with the order taking seven years to complete due to major issues in Ukraine’s defence sector. These issues ended hopes for further sales, and led the Thai Defence Ministry to consider cancelling the deal, before looking to China to further modernise its armoured warfare capabilities by procuring VT-4 tanks from 2017. The choice of the T-84 itself was a result of significant Western pressure on Bangkok not to procure the Russian T-90, which has previously been considered a frontrunner to equip the Thai Army. The Thai Army has nevertheless shown high levels of satisfaction with the VT-4, procurements of which have relegated the T-84 to a less elite status in the service, with procurements of the more advanced Chinese vehicles expected to continue.