The Democratic Republic of the Congo took delivery 25 upgraded T-64BV-1 main battle tanks in 2016, the State Service of Export Control of Ukraine said in a report published on On Monday, July 31.

According to the State Company “Ukrspecexport”, Congo signed a contract for repair and supply of 50 Ukrainian tanks T-64BV-1 in 2014.

The T-64BV-1 is a recent Ukrainian upgraded of the T-64B1 tanks. The first batch of upgraded T-64BV-1 tanks should have been delivered in 2014, but the due ongoing military conflict in Ukraine, tanks were delivered to Ukrainian armed forces instead.

The upgraded T-64BV-1 (also named T-64B1M) tanks are fitted with new built-in Nozh modular explosive reactive armor. Developers claim that this armor provides protection against tandem warheads and reduces penetration of APFSDS rounds by over 90%.

The T-64BV-1 is armed with a 125-mm smoothbore gun. It is fitted with an automatic loader. Maximum effective range of fire is 2 500 m at daytime and up to 1 500 m at night. A total of 37 rounds are carried for the main gun. The T-64BV-1, as its predecessor, lacks the capability to launch anti-tank guided missiles.