By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
(Washington DC) The T-54 and T-55 Soviet-era Post WWII main battle tank is the most produced tank in the history of the world, with estimated production numbers as high as 100,000 over several decades.
Despite being an early Cold-War-era tank, seemingly obsolete decades after its emergence, numerous variants of the T-55 have for decades been in service with as many as 50 countries.
T-54 and T-55: Used on Both Sides of Ukraine Battle
One such instance, of great relevance now, is Ukraine. Ukrainian forces are fighting with M-55S modernized variants of the Soviet T-55 which, according to an article in Forbes, integrate reactive armor, upgraded engines, improved fire control, and a stabilized, British-made 105mm gun in place of the original Soviet 100mm-gun.
“The gun is what makes the M-55S valuable to Ukraine. The British gun is compatible with a wide range of modern ammunition, including armor-piercing sabot rounds that can penetrate the armor of a Russian T-72,” the Forbes article states.
The chassis of the T-55, however, is small when compared to modern tanks, as it is cited at only 36-tons, a weight likely to make it much more vulnerable if it operates within target range of heavier modern tanks.
The T-55 can compensate for its small size with speed either, as available specs place the tank at only 32mph. One might wonder how an older, smaller, slower tank might prove effective against Russian heavy armor.
Ukraine’s T-55s are Better, More Upgraded
There are likely several reasons for this, one of which is simply the impact of modernization. The U.S. Army Abrams, for instance, is now an entirely different platform than it was at its inception in the 1980s. While the chassis is in many instances similar, although with newer composite armor protections, the lethality of the vehicle itself is now several generations beyond where it was.
The addition of new computing, electronics, advanced active protection systems, long-range, high-fidelity Forward-Looking-Infrared (FLIR) sights, auxiliary power units, datalinks, and automation have massively evolved the combat lethality of the Abrams.
The Ukrainian variant of the T-55 may be quite similar as combat performance can be changed in a decisive, paradigm-changing way with the right kinds of sensing, targeting, and computing upgrades. This is likely the case with the Ukraine T-55S variant.
There is also yet another significant factor, identified in a separate article in Forbes, which suggests that the Russians have been sending non-upgraded WWII-era T-55s into combat against Ukrainian forces.
Citing an online photo, the Forbes article explains that the Russian T-55s are clearly not upgraded, and appear to be operating without reactive armor. Naturally this makes them much more vulnerable.
Calling the Russian T-55s in the photo “hopelessly obsolete” 1950’s technology, the Forbes report says the online photo shows a T-55 with the same active infrared optics the T-55 had in the late 1950s. Older target sights would greatly imperil a tank, given recent advances in thermal sensors, electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) targeting and fire control systems.
Without anything remotely modern in terms of sensing and targeting, the non-upgraded Russian T-55s are likely challenged to even “see” or “detect” Ukrainian targets at relevant distances.
Kris Osborn is the Military Affairs Editor of 19FortyFive and President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
