Lesson plan

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.

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Article summary

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.

Key claims

  1. date of establishment: 1977 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of establishment is "1977". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1377685618

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.