T-55N

_YugoSlav_ · July 28, 2023, 2:01am

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T-55N

History and Description

In the early 2000s, Serbian defense company Yugoimport developed a modernization kit for the T-55 tank, called the T-55N (Т-55Н in Serbian Cyrillic alphabet). It was intended to increase the vehicle’s mobility, protection, firepower and to extend its service life. It was presented to the public for the first time at the 2005 military fair in Nikinci. In 2007, 2009, and 2011 the same tank was shown at Partner military fairs to potential foreign customers. The modernization components would be delivered to customers and installed on old tanks. Ultimately the project failed due to a lack of foreign interest.

To increase the tank’s mobility, a V-46-6 780 horsepower engine was installed, the same as those found in T-72s. The engine provided a maximum speed of 51 km/h and an operational range of 545 km. Old tracks were replaced with new tracks that allow the installation of rubber pads.
Protection was improved with the addition of domestic KAO M99 ERA blocks to the upper front plate and the turret. The development of M99 explosive reactive armor was started in the early 90s. The idea was finally realized in mid-August 1998, as part of the improvement of the M-84, T-72, and T-55 tanks. In terms of its concept and construction characteristics, the domestic explosive reactive armor is very similar to the Russian KONTAKT-1. The ERA reduces the penetration of HEAT projectiles by up to 80% and penetration of kinetic projectiles by up to 25% depending on the caliber, the angle of attack, and the distance of the ERA from the tank. The ERA is resistant to 23 mm rounds, artillery fragments, as well as to the detonation of adjacent blocks. The blocks have dimensions of 152x305x65 mm. They weigh 6 kg and contain 350 g of explosives. The total mass of the additional ERA protection is about 750 kg, or 1,000 kg if it is installed on the sides of the tank.
Protection of the lower front plate and sides was improved with the addition of rubber screens. Six smoke grenade dischargers were mounted on either side of the turret. Additional protection was enhanced with a halon-based fire extinguishing system, NBC protection subsystem, addition of a dozer blade to the lower front plate, integration of KMT-6J mine-clearing equipment, introduction of laser warning receivers and an anti-explosive protection kit for fuel tanks.
The firepower was increased by installing a more modern DNNS-1A gunner’s sight, with an integrated image intensifier and laser range finder. As part of the new FCS, the vehicle also received Cossonay Model 270-A-20XMBL meteo sensor. The coaxial SGMT machine gun was replaced with an M86 (PKT) machine gun, while the old loader’s roof-mounted DShK machine gun was replaced with an M87 (NSVT) machine gun. Additionally, a brand-new M98 100mm APFSDS round was added to the existing combat set. The shell is a license-produced variant of the 100 mm Israeli M111 Hetz APFSDS. Compared to Soviet 3BM25 the M98 has better performance against sloped armor; against flat armor, the difference is rather small. It can penetrate 150 mm of RHA at 60 degrees at 2 km (for comparison 3BM25 penetrates 100 mm).

In short, the most notable improvements were:

V-46-6 (780 hp) engine,
KAO M99 ERA,
Rubber screens,
12x smoke grenade dischargers,
Dozer blade,
KMT-6J mine-clearing equipment,
DNNS-1A gunner sight,
M87 and M86 machine guns,
M98 100 mm APFSDS round

Specifications

Essentials
- Length with gun forward; 9.00 m
- Width; 3.37 m
- Height; 2.40 m
- Mass; around 37 t
- Crew; 4 (driver, commander, loader, gunner)
Protection
- Armor; standard T-55A armor
- APS; N/A
- ERA; KAO M99
- Smoke; 12 x BDK M79 smoke grenades, ESS
Mobility
- Engine; V-46-6 780 hp
- Power/weight; 21.1 hp/t
- Top speed; 51 kph
- Amphibious; No
Firepower
- Main; 100 mm D-10T2S cannon
  - Reload; 8.5 s
  - 43 rounds in total
  - Types of rounds:
    - 3BM-8
    - BR-412D
    - 3BM25
    - 3BK17M
    - M63 (OF-412)
    - M69 (3BK5M)
    - M98
- Secondary; 7.62 mm M86 machine gun
  - Penetration at 10 m; 10 mm
  - Fire rate; 700 shots/min
  - Belt capacity; 250 rounds
- Supplementary; 12.7 mm M87 machine gun
  - Penetration at 10 m; 38 mm
  - Fire rate; 700 shots/min
  - Belt capacity; 60 rounds
Guidance;
- Stabilizer; Two-plane stabilizer
- Vertical; -5° / +18°
- Horizontal; 360°
- Turret rotation speed; 15°/s
- Zoom; Day: 3-7x, night: 9.5x