The T-55AGM is a medium tank, a Ukrainian modernization of the T-54/T-55 developed by the Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau.[1] The T-55AGM rebuild package can also be applied to Chinese made Type 59s and the Soviet T-62. As these upgrades are developed for export only, the variants may differ greatly in accord with the customer.

T-55AGM
T-55M8-A2 Tifon II, a variant of the T-55AGM
TypeMedium tank
Place of originUkraine
Production history
DesignerKMDB
Specifications
Mass46[1]
Length985.3 cm[1]
Width356.0 cm[1]
Height300.4 cm[1]
Crew3[1]

Main
armament
125mm cannon[2][1]
Secondary
armament
12.7mm NSVT[1][2]
7.62 PKT[2][1]
Engine5TDFM[2]
850[1]
Ground clearance450

Description edit

The tank is fitted with a 5TDFM, two-stroke liquid-cooled multi-fuel supercharged diesel engine with opposed pistons which develops 850 horsepower (hp) (634 kW),[3] improved running gear. The driver has an automated movement control system with a steering handlebar control.

The T-55AGM has built-in explosive reactive armour, countermeasures system, new fire suppression system with over-ride facilities at the commander's station, automatic loader which holds 18 rounds and anti-aircraft machine gun that can be aimed and fired from within the turret under a complete armour protection. The anti-aircraft machine gun is installed on the commander's cupola and can be fired at air or ground targets.

Prospective buyers can choose between two main smoothbore gun armament options: 125 mm KBM1 or 120 mm KBM2. Both of them, with use of enhanced performance conventional ammunition, or a barrel-launched anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), can defeat modern tanks from a distance of 2–3 kilometres (1.2–1.9 mi) and up to 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) using an ATGM. The tank can carry at least 30 rounds. The 125 mm KBM1 smoothbore gun weighs 2.5 tonnes, has a barrel length of 6 m (48 calibers) and can fire armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS), high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT), and high explosive (HE) fragmentation (HE-FRAG) rounds, while the 120 mm KBM2 smoothbore gun weighs 2.63 tonnes, has a barrel length of 6 m (50 calibers) and can fire all types of ammunition that meet the requirements of NATO standards and Ukrainian-made ATGMs. Both guns have normal recoil length of 26–30 centimetres (10–12 in) and maximum recoil length of 31 cm. The tank can be armed with either a KT-7.62 or the PKT-7.62 coaxial machine gun and can carry 3,000 rounds for it, and either a KT-12.7 or NSVT-12.7 heavy machine gun for AA protection and can carry 450 rounds for it. The approximate successful range is 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) during day and 0.8 kilometres (0.50 mi) during night. The AA HMG can be elevated between -5 and +70 degrees. The remote control for anti-aircraft machine gun is stabilized in the vertical axis during automatic mode (by using the TKN-5 sight) and is using the PZU-7 sight for semi-automatic mode.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j T-55AGM upgraded tank // Military and special purpose vehicles. Spetstechnoexport catalogue 2020. page 12
  2. ^ a b c d Михаил Лавров. Последняя реинкарнация Т-55 // "Техника и вооружение", No. 2, 2016. стр.35-41
  3. ^ Tkach, Volodymyr (April–June 2015). "Powerplant system". Ukrainian Defense Review (2): 10–13.

External links edit