MOSCOW, September 1. /TASS/. Omsktransmash (part of the Uralvagonzavod defense manufacturer within the state tech corporation Rostec) is holding talks with potential customers on upgrading Soviet T-55 main battle tanks, Company CEO Igor Lobov told TASS at the Army-2021 international arms show that ended outside Moscow.
"We have developed various options of modernizing the T-55 tank. We are currently holding talks with various customers and are ready to work in this direction, if necessary," the chief executive said, responding to a question about whether the enterprise was modernizing T-55 tanks.
The T-55 medium main battle tank is the world’s first mass-produced armored vehicle equipped with an automatic system of protection against a nuclear attack. It was capable of engaging in combat operations in nuclear warfare.
The T-55 is a derivative of the T-54 tank and was produced from 1958 to 1979. It was also the first tank in troops to get the Drozd reactive armor protection system. The T-55 and its T-55A modification were widely exported and are still operational in many foreign armies. According to various data, Soviet defense enterprises produced a total of about 50,000 T-55 tanks.
The Army-2021 international military-technical forum was held at the Patriot Congress and Exhibition Center outside Moscow on August 22-28.