The russians Mounted Reactive Armor Onto T-54 and Sent It Into Fight
Overcome footage not too long ago published on social media reveals a russian T-54 tank geared up with Kontakt-1 explosive reactive armor (Era) slates and dispatched as an assault device in the course of the offensive on Novomykhailivka village in the eastern section of Ukraine. The occasions took place in February 2024, the tank was wrecked by Ukrainian forces.
This is the initial recorded episode of russians making use of Kontakt-1 to the T-54/55 sequence of key fight tanks. This also aligns with the latest inclination of russian invasion army to deploy these aged tanks for frontal assaults and assist of assault steps alternatively than previously noticed tactic of utilizing them as quasi-artillery raining fairly small-selection strikes with indirect fireplace.
Browse additional: The russians Also Armor Their ‘Most Modern’ T-90M Proryv Tanks in an Artisanal Way Fearing Ukrainian ATGM, Drones (Video)
Notably, so significantly only 6 T-54/55 tanks have been counted as ruined, in accordance to observations by Oryx OSINT community, comparatively lower casualties compared to other kinds of russian tanks (788 T-72s of all variants and even 115 of russia’s most highly developed T-90 tanks). T-54 and T-55 styles began appearing in the russian forces afterwards than other tanks, in April 2023. Remaining concealed from immediate confrontations and tank duels, they wanted more security a great deal significantly less than in an assault, which could reveal why the russians only started out to improve them with Era.
There is now no trustworthy data on how many of archaic T-54/55 tanks were taken out of storage services across the russian federation. The only figure at hand is the generalized estimate of 1,180 to 1,800 tanks of all sorts gained by the russian armed forces in 2023, knowledge provided by the IISS, a British imagine tank.
Moreover, the russian resources ended up sharing information about T-54s getting into service with the 1430th Motor Rifle Regiment, composed of mobilized staff. These tanks had been deployed in the position of the mentioned quasi-artillery “assault guns.”
Apparently, the russian forces started fixing reactive armor on to these tanks just not long ago. Before in February 2024, Ukrainians filmed 1 of russian T-55s partaking in an assault with absolutely nothing but a slat armor cage on best of its turret.
Earlier, War Ukraine-Russia Information Hub analyzed shots of a T-90M with Kontakt Period tiles, applied ideal on major of the essential Relikt Era package and the ineffective rope internet hanging from the turret and, of system, the ever-current slat armor “grills.”
Read a lot more: russia’s Tank Stocks Are Functioning Out: Much more and Extra Outdated Gear Is Being Made use of by Invaders In opposition to Ukraine