Editing T-80UM-1 Bars (section)

==History==
Class: Main Battle Tank (Prototype)</br>
Developed: 1997</br>
Service: N/A</br>
Vehicles Built: 1</br>
Operators: N/A

The T-80UM-1 Bars ("Snow Leopard" in Russian) starts roughly where the T-80U left off. The T-80U was a highly advanced MBT for its time (the 1980s) that nonetheless had one major flaw – its cost, which would become ever more significant with the decline of the Soviet Union. Especially the turbine engine was very complex and therefore pricey. Its advantage was, however, that it could run well in cold weather, which is why Russia kept using the T-80 series in its arctic regions.

The T-80 series was also produced in Ukraine where the expensive turbine engine was replaced by a diesel. For Russia, however, this wasn't really an option due to the abovementioned low temperature properties. Instead, the T-80U received a more powerful turbine engine (GTD-1250) in the 1980s and that was it. Further T-80U development went nowhere apart from several prototypes – and the T-80UM-1 was one of them.

Aside from the Leningrad Kirov plant, the T-80U was also mass-produced in Omsk by the Omsktransmash plant. It was there the Bars was developed and built with the prototype being shown to public during the VTTV-97 expo also taking place in Omsk in 1997. It's worth noting that this expo was the same one where the Black Eagle prototype originally appeared. The Black Eagle overshadowed the T-80UM-1 Bars but the latter was a far more practical and cheaper to produce vehicle. According to some sources, the T-80UM-1 was not only undergoing military trials at that point, but was also almost ready for mass-production.

The main idea behind the T-80UM-1 project was to improve the protection of the crew and ammo stowage based on the Chechnya War experience, specifically the 1994 Battle of Grozny in which the T-80 series tanks proved very vulnerable in urban combat. The improvements therefore included an upgraded ERA kit, Shtora or Arena APS, improved transmission, upgraded 125mm gun and a new fire control system.

The rest of the tank stayed mostly the same, allowing for potentially fast overhauls of existing machines. The only part that required more work was the new transmission installation. Nevertheless, the project came at a very difficult time for the by-then critically underfunded Russian military for whom the Bars was intended. The 1990s were not a good time for new projects and the Omsk plant was, by that time, also in deep financial trouble. The tank therefore remained a single prototype only.