Kažu de je TR-85 bio poprilično žedan što se tiče ulja i nafte.
Kako se može pronači na netu oko problema sa Egipčanima
The TR-77 tanks exported to Egypt were ex-Romanian ones, hastily refurbished. There was a big scandal with the quality of the tanks as they weren't supposed to be exported, only to train tank crews. Also, they were not adapted to desert conditions.
Malo što se tiče SUV na TR-580
Documentation for the Volna fire control system, a cheaper and simpler solution, also appears to have been delivered by USSR to Romania because Urdareanu mentions talks with the Russians to deliver the documentation. The thing is the countries involved in the modernization (USSR, Romania, Poland, GDR, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Hungary) never quite agreed upon the FCS. Merida was allegedly of poor quality and only Poland implemented it. Kladivo permitted the use of the usual optics found on T-55 and thus was cheaper (in only added a laser rangefinder and a crosswind sensor to the Volna). GDR, Hungary and Romania (small numbers) bought it, while Czechoslovakia produced it.
In 1983 Romania acquired the Kladivo because it's own production of Ciclop was insufficient and seriously lagging behind. The Ciclop FCS, which was produced at Intreprinderea Electromagnetica (in coop with other factories) if I remember, was not really Chinese. The only thing that was Chinese on it was the laser telemeter, which was bought from China simply because we couldn't produce it locally. Ciclop development was ready in 1986, but production was seriously lagging. The Kladivo FCS delivery was two years late. In late 1985-early 1986, when it arrived, it was installed and tested. The performance of the FCS was not impressive, but Urdareanu claims that they "couldn't have produced the Ciclop without buying Kladivo" and that Kladivo could have been transformed later into Ciclop (which I think happened after 1990?)
Initially, the TR-580 was going to have a Swedish FCS built under license. The funds were cut off and so the Ciclop had to be developed. There were also plans to adapt Ciclop to the T-34, but as production was insufficient for the TR-580/800, it never happened. It was not an easy task as the parts did not fit. Apparently, there is more info about the Ciclop in "Cararile destinului".
