First lot of Oplot tanks delivered to Thailand

Ukraine has handed over to Thailand the first lot of five new main battle tanks (MBTs) BM Oplot, manufactured at the State Enterprise Kharkiv Malyshev Plant (KMP), the Information-Analytical Bulletin of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine informs.

According to the state-owned company "Ukrspetsexport," the Deed of Technical Acceptance was signed by the parties in Kharkiv on Nov. 5 after a full cycle of running and firing tests. The customer confirmed that the technical characteristics of the Oplots fully meet the requirements set out in the contract. In addition to the technical testing of MBTs in Ukraine, the final acceptance by the customer will take place in Thailand, says Ukrspetsexport.

The contract between the SC "Ukrspetsexport" and the Operational Control of the Royal Thai Army was signed in 2011 and provides for the supply of 49 MBTs Oplot. The total value of the contract is over 200 million USD. According to the contract, the project started at KMP in early April 2012 and is scheduled to end in 2014.

In recent years, Ukraine has been actively developing military-technical cooperation with Thailand. According to experts, the total value of contracts awarded in 2006-2011 exceeds 500 million USD. Ukraine also manufactures armored vehicles, in particular, the BTR-3E1 and BM Oplot tanks.

The MBT Oplot was created by Morozov Desian Bureau of Kharkiv at the order of the Ministry of Defense. According to its characteristics BM Oplot is one of the best tanks in the world. By most of characteristics, it surpasses Main Battle Tanks, in particular, the T-90A of the Russian Army and M1 Abrams of the U.S. Army. For example, a new generation of dynamic armor, mounted on Oplots, bests the Russian equivalent of "reactive armor" Contact-5, which is installed on the T-90A and T-72BA. In addition, the Ukrainian tanks have a powerful defense of the lateral projection which is superior to all Western and Russian war machines. Military experts claim that the reserve of technological innovations of the domestic war machine will retain its advantage in the future.

Military industry experts claim that Ukrainian weaponry is popular on international markets because of its designed reliability, lower cost compared with Western counterparts, and manufacturer’s warranty for service and repair. In this case, the domestic equipment and weapons are on par with competitors by combat characteristics.