TR-85

The TR-85 is a main battle tank designed for the Romanian Land Forces. Based on the TR-77-580, the TR-85 tank was developed from 1978 to 1985 and produced from 1986 until 1990. A modernization program was initiated in March 1994 to upgrade the TR-85 tanks to NATO standards. The result was the TR-85M1 Bizonul ("Bison") third-generation main battle tank, currently the most modern tank in service with the Romanian Land Forces. The TR-85M1 uses a T-block powerpack with the V8 Romanian 860 hp engine 8VS-A2T2M (similar in concept to the T-block V10 MTU-MB838 with 830 hp, used with the Leopard 1), an improved turret, a locally designed "Ciclop" fire control system (with cross-wind sensor, laser rangefinder and night vision), new 100 mm BM-412 Sg (Romanian version of M309 100mm round produced by Elbit Systems) armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS-T) projectiles and a fully redesigned suspension with 6 road wheels on each side, protected by metal side skirts. Combat weight is 50 tons.