You're reading: Malyshev Plant: Export potential of Ukrainian tank industry based on promising studies

The export potential of Ukraine's tank industry, a famous producer of armored machinery, is based on promising studies, according to the Kharkiv-based Malyshev Plant state enterprise.

Commenting on the export prospects for the Ukrainian Oplot tank, which was bought by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in spring 2009, Malyshev Plant s deputy director general Mykola Belov said that it was the correct time for the tank to appear on the market.

"According to forecasts of specialists, the number of orders for heavy and light armored machinery will considerably grow in 2011-2015. This is linked to the change in alignment of the forces in the world and to the rapid … deterioration of this type of machinery produced by the Soviet Union,’ he said, adding that over 20,000 T-72 tanks had been produced.

"Using the example of tanks, one can understand that modern tanks created in the Soviet Union, like the T-80 and T-90 are technology from the 1970s. The average age for generation change is 15-20 years, plus 10 years of overhauls. This means that soon the need to upgrade of armored machinery will appear," he said.

Malyshev Plant said that among promising sales markets for the new Oplot tank are all the countries that bought Soviet armored machinery and countries that are interested in becoming tank-producing countries.

"Primarily, these are Africa, Southeast Asia, South America and the Middle East," he said.

Commenting on the development of cooperation with strategic partners in armored machinery building, in particular, with Pakistan, Belov expressed confidence that cooperation under the program of the Pakistani-Chinese-Ukrainian Al-Khalid tank will be successful, as well as in the program on servicing Ukrainian T-80UD tanks supplied to Pakistan in 1997-2000.

"As for other machinery, the prospects are unclear, but there was interest in buying around 300 armored troop-carriers," he said.

The largest export orders being realized by the plant is a contract to supply propulsion systems with 6TD-2 engines to China for installation in the Chinese MBT-2000 tank. The contract was signed in April 2008, he said.

"The contract is being fulfilled in line with the schedule. China is paying on time," he said.

The company said that the plant expects a 1.5 times rise in production in 2009.