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T-55AGM

The T-55AGM is a tank, a Ukrainian modernization of the T-54/T-55 developed by the Morozov company. It brings former Soviet T-54/T-55 tanks to the standard of the T-80. 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 accordance with the customer.

Description

The tank is fitted with a 5TDFM, two-stroke liquid-cooled multi-fuel supercharged diesel engine with boxing pistons which develops 850 hp (634 kW), 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 both air and ground targets.

Prospective buyers can choose between two main armament options: 125 mm KBM1 smoothbore gun or 120 mm KBM2 smoothbore gun. Both of them, with use of enhanced performance conventional ammunition and barrel-launched ATGMs, can defeat modern tanks form distance of 2000-3000 m and up to 5,000 m using the 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 APFSDS, HEAT and HE-FRAG rounds while 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 ATGM. Both guns have normal recoil length of 26–30 cm and maximum recoil length of 31 cm. The tank can be armed with either the KT-7.62 or the PKT-7.62 coaxial machine gun and can carry 3,000 rounds for it. The tank can also be armed with either 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 km during day and 800 m during night. The AA HMG can be elevated between -5 to +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.

References

• Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau Official website