The M-55S tanks transferred from Slovenia to Ukraine were not trusted by Kyiv and were repeatedly reassigned to different units, most recently a reserve brigade.
In September 2022, Slovenia reached an agreement to supply Ukraine with 28 M-55S tanks, a modernized variant of the Soviet-made T-55 series, in exchange for 40 German-made military vehicles, including 35 eight-wheel trucks and 5 tanker trucks.
The T-55 tank weighs 36 tons, is approximately 3.3 m high and 2.4 m long, with a crew of four. It is equipped with a 100 mm D-10T cannon, a 7.62 mm SGMT coaxial machine gun, and a 12.7 mm DShK heavy machine gun. It can travel at a maximum speed of 51 km/h and has a range of 325 km, or 610 km with auxiliary fuel tanks.
The M-55S is a modernized variant of the T-55 tank, developed by the Israeli company Elbit, equipped with a NATO-standard L7 105 mm cannon, explosive reactive armor (ERA) on the hull and turret.
Additionally, the M-55S features a digital ballistic computer to improve the targeting capabilities of the fire control system, as well as a laser rangefinder and a more powerful engine.
The M-55S main battle tank of the Slovenian army. Photo: Slovenska Vojska .
Ukraine received these tanks in November 2022 and assigned them to the 47th Independent Mechanized Brigade, a unit nicknamed "the iron fist". This brigade trained with the M-55S tanks in the following months, in preparation for a large-scale counteroffensive in mid-2023.
About three months before the campaign began, Ukraine received 21 Leopard 2A6 tanks from Germany and Portugal, a much more modern model than the M-55S. Kyiv then decided to assign these Leopard 2A6 tanks to the 47th Brigade and transfer 28 M-55S tanks to the less prioritized 67th Independent Mechanized Brigade.
"The M-55S tank is equipped with explosive reactive armor (ERA), but the steel layer beneath the ERA is only a few hundred millimeters thick at its strongest point. This is quite modest compared to current tank armor standards," military expert David Axe of Forbes noted. "Meanwhile, the Leopard 2A6 is one of the best-protected tanks in combat."
While the 47th Brigade was participating in Ukraine's counteroffensive on the southern front, the 67th Brigade was tasked with defending the Kreminna area, north of the eastern Lugansk province. This force lost an M-55S to Russian artillery fire in July 2023.
Images shared on March 7 by Military Land, a project that monitors Ukrainian military activity, show that the remaining 27 M-55S tanks were once again transferred to another unit, this time the 5th Tank Brigade. This is one of the few brigades that remain intact in the Ukrainian army's reserves.
An M-55S tank in service with the 5th Brigade of Ukraine is shown in this photo published on March 7. Photo: Military Land
Technically, this brigade was established in 2016, but it existed almost entirely on paper. The Ukrainian army only began equipping and personnel-supplying the 5th Brigade after the conflict broke out in late February 2022.
The 5th Brigade was subsequently deployed to the Kryvyi Rih area, but it was largely inactive due to insufficient resources, as Kyiv prioritized reinforcing already established units.
It wasn't until last December that the first official training images of the 5th Brigade emerged, showing the unit preparing for deployment. The 5th Brigade is currently still undergoing training in Kryvyi Rih.
Besides the M-55S, recent images on social media show that this brigade has also been delivered Leopard 1A5 tanks, the tank with the thinnest armor currently in combat.
Besides the possibility that Ukraine is using the 5th Brigade as a receiving point for decommissioned equipment from other units, expert Axe suggests that Ukraine may want to build a tank brigade specializing in a single type of ammunition, since both the Leopard 1A5 and M-55S are equipped with the L7 105 mm cannon.
"Don't think of this as a mixed brigade with one M-55S battalion and two Leopard 1A5 battalions. Think of it as a brigade of three L7 mobile artillery battalions, all firing the same type of ammunition," Axe said.
Pham Giang (According to Forbes, AFP, Reuters )
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