2). Many people have talked about how much equipment Russia has in reserve, on paper. But as I've mentioned, numerous times, a significant percentage of that equipment is poorly stored, often outdoors and has spent 30+ years rusting out. It will never be used on a battlefield. The equipment we see in this video is some of the "top of the line" equipment Wagner had at its disposal and look at the condition it's in. Imagine what an up close view of a 30 year told T-72 or a 45 year old T-62 that's been sitting outside in "storage" looks like.
A Ukrainian soldier with a Javelin anti-armor system or an NLAW is FAR more valuable than a Russian T-55 and it's not even close. Considering the Ukrainians have millions of potential soldiers and thousands of modern anti-atmor systems as their disposal, a T-55 MBT is almost useless in modern combat. Hell, the 25mm gun on a Bradley or cannon on a CV90 will cut through armor of T-55 (or even a T-62) like butter. All those ancient society tanks are is mobile coffins, which will be followed closely by Russia's mobile crematoriums...You know what, as the war progress, as long is it can shoot and move + survive some shrapnel, its good to go.
Military forumers spent years debating who has the better gun, armor and all kinds of shit...only to watch those getting obliterated by mines or low yield grenade dropped on its hatch and abandoned after getting hit by one shot.
Those T-62 and 55s ? They're good to go and as relevant as any other tank operated by both side.
A Ukrainian soldier with a Javelin anti-armor system or an NLAW is FAR more valuable than a Russian T-55 and it's not even close. Considering the Ukrainians have millions of potential soldiers and thousands of modern anti-atmor systems as their disposal, a T-55 MBT is almost useless in modern combat.
Hell, the 25mm gun on a Bradley or cannon on a CV90 will cut through armor of T-55 (or even a T-62) like butter.
Such conclusion comes from lack of understanding about how they are being deployed.
"THE RUSSIAN USE of armour has evolved significantly during the conflict... ...tanks are used as highly accurate fire support assets able to stand off at 2 km and utilise their enhanced optics to identify and knock out firing positions. It is important to note that while the introduction of older tanks such as the T62 and T55 to the field has been mocked online, these vehicles are largely being used in the role of the fire support function offered by BMPs and other infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs). They represent an increase in range, protection and kinetic effect over these IFVs, and therefore pose a serious battlefield threat when there are a limited number of anti-tank guided weapons able to reach them at their stand-off range."
It won't.
It is exactly because combat is not favorable anymore for modern tanks that the T-55 suddenly looks useful again. It took the Russians months and a lot of money to produce the latest T-72B3, 80BVM, 90M only to lose it in a mere days/weeks by some freak explosions as a result of mines and hatch dropped grenade, the same applies to the leopard 2A6. For the Russians which is now defending with multiple defensive lines yet to be penetrated, anything that shoots counts. From truck based 57mm gun, MT-LB based100mm anti tank gun etc. And from the looks of it they have lots of it.A Ukrainian soldier with a Javelin anti-armor system or an NLAW is FAR more valuable than a Russian T-55 and it's not even close. Considering the Ukrainians have millions of potential soldiers and thousands of modern anti-atmor systems as their disposal, a T-55 MBT is almost useless in modern combat. Hell, the 25mm gun on a Bradley or cannon on a CV90 will cut through armor of T-55 (or even a T-62) like butter. All those ancient society tanks are is mobile coffins, which will be followed closely by Russia's mobile crematoriums...
Such conclusion comes from lack of understanding about how they are being deployed.
"THE RUSSIAN USE of armour has evolved significantly during the conflict... ...tanks are used as highly accurate fire support assets able to stand off at 2 km and utilise their enhanced optics to identify and knock out firing positions. It is important to note that while the introduction of older tanks such as the T62 and T55 to the field has been mocked online, these vehicles are largely being used in the role of the fire support function offered by BMPs and other infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs). They represent an increase in range, protection and kinetic effect over these IFVs, and therefore pose a serious battlefield threat when there are a limited number of anti-tank guided weapons able to reach them at their stand-off range."
They're just artillery food. Russia will bunker them in and try to use them as short range turrets, with low accuracy. Ukraine will hunt them from a distance using drone corrected artillery fire, cluster munitions, and GMLRS. I suspect their effectiveness will be extremely minimal and as a result, will contribute to the already poor morale among Russian soldiers. Being asked to use 60+ year old technology to defend positions, while GMLRS, JDAMs and cluster munitions are being dropped on your head, is a shitty reality.It is exactly because combat is not favorable anymore for modern tanks that the T-55 suddenly looks useful again. It took the Russians months and a lot of money to produce the latest T-72B3, 80BVM, 90M only to lose it in a mere days/weeks by some freak explosions as a result of mines and hatch dropped grenade, the same applies to the leopard 2A6. For the Russians which is now defending with multiple defensive lines yet to be penetrated, anything that shoots counts. From truck based 57mm gun, MT-LB based100mm anti tank gun etc. And from the looks of it they have lots of it.
Until the Russians have an effective answer for Ukrainian counter battery fire, and can match the combination of drone corrected, GPS guided munitions and GMLRS raining death down on Russia's outmatched / outranged artillery, it's going to remain a really bad problem for Russian troops.This is exactly why its not wise looking down on the T-55s in that particular battlefield, turns out modern tank-tank combat are rare, and whatever design and engineering that tank designer put their effort to design top notch tanks like the M1, Leo2, T-90M are trashed by things as simple as mines and grenades.
Ukrainian and Russian infantry will still die when hit either by 2A26M 125mm guns or by 100mm D-10 guns and specs that used to be so cool such as gun pressure chambers, APFSDS penetration stats, shoot on the move or RHA thickness is becoming less and less relevant. Anything that shoots counts.
I wonder if the Russians are planning to return to tank destroyer concept in the future to cut cost and cut production time. maybe a 21st century version of this.
The impression is all those advance tanks will just got destroyed when show up on battlefield.turns out modern tank-tank combat are rare, and whatever design and engineering that tank designer put their effort to design top notch tanks like the M1, Leo2, T-90M are trashed by things as simple as mines and grenades.
In their fire support role, they'll serve as highly inaccurate and lowly armoured targets, ripe for the Ukrainians to shred with any number of man portable anti-armor systems, TOW missiles, etc.
Not all of them, but very little difference if you're advancing in a Leo2 or T-72 against a Russian line. You will at some point stopped by mines and the dismounted infantry will have to battle it while getting shot by everything that shoots, even if its old.The impression is all those advance tanks will just got destroyed when show up on battlefield.
Yeah, We got that impression after watched all those videos. But we don't know how many pill boxes, building, infantry, or other tanks being killed or destroyed by them before being destroyed themselves, right?
I think that you are under the impression that Ukraine is going to waste their manpower like Russia did in the Bakhmut area, in WW1 / WW2 style attempts to penetrate the Russian lines by throwing waves of infantry into the teeth of prepared Russian defenses. That's not the tactic they're going to use. Right now they are advancing slowly and methodically by smashing Russia's artillery, that is out ranged, outgunned and has poor counter battery support. What will happen is what we've seen previously. Ukraine will clean up all the Russian artillery in a given area, and strike their ammunition depots using GMLRS, to starve the remaining guns, then they will turn their conventional artillery onto fixed Russian defensive positions. Only when the Russians are pinned down by artillery fire that is beyond their capability to respond to, will Ukraine advance with mechanized forces. As we've seen, when they do advance, they don't do so in big convoys that can be easily targeted. They advance with platoon and company sized elements and properly assess the Russian response before advancing further. That makes ancient systems like T-55 relatively useless because it's rarely going to have any targets inside its range before it's targeted by Ukrainian precision artillery and drone strikes. Speaking of drones, if we thought T-72s and T-80s cooked off easily because of the ammunition being stored in their turret, Ukraine has plenty of drone dropped munitions / kamikaze drones that will make quick work not only of a T-55's minimal armor, but there will be extremely low levels of crew survivability as well. Trained crews will become even more imporant than the tanks themselves and Russia will lose them in droves.Does they have to, to begin with ? Minefields, trenches, barbed wire, bunkers, dragon's teeth etc are there for the purpose to either slow and attrit the enemy or (most of the time) channel assault force into the kill zone, where artillery saturation finished the job.
This is a yield of a 105mm gun on impact with that of a standard football field. Do you really think they NEED to be JDAM like accurate ? If they're not killed, they're wounded, and if not wounded they got concussions. A 100mm or 115mm round fired from the T-55 or T-62 will achieve similar if not more result especially that most of their ammo are either APCBC or HE
They could use berms to increase the angle of the barrel, effectively shielding them in behind , far from ATGM teams.
ATGMs aren't magic answer either for this problem, you should hear this opera8r here talking just how dangerous it is to actually move close and hit tanks with ATGMs. Watch from 2:26
Not all of them, but very little difference if you're advancing in a Leo2 or T-72 against a Russian line. You will at some point stopped by mines and the dismounted infantry will have to battle it while getting shot by everything that shoots, even if its old.
And in this case Russia still has a lot of things that can shoot. 2000 equipment from just mercenary group that's a lot. And those defensive lines are not breached yet.
I think that you are under the impression that Ukraine is going to waste their manpower like Russia did in the Bakhmut area, in WW1 / WW2 style attempts to penetrate the Russian lines by throwing waves of infantry into the teeth of prepared Russian defenses. That's not the tactic they're going to use. Right now they are advancing slowly and methodically by smashing Russia's artillery, that is out ranged, outgunned and has poor counter battery support. What will happen is what we've seen previously. Ukraine will clean up all the Russian artillery in a given area, and strike their ammunition depots using GMLRS, to starve the remaining guns, then they will turn their conventional artillery onto fixed Russian defensive positions. Only when the Russians are pinned down by artillery fire that is behind their capability to respond to, will Ukraine advance with mechanized forces. As we've seen, when they do advance, they don't do so in big convoys that can be easily targeted. They advance with platoon and company sized elements and properly assess the Russian response before advancing further. That makes ancient systems like T-55 relatively useless because it's rarely going to have any targets inside its range before it's targeted by Ukrainian precision artillery and drone strikes. Speaking of drones, if we thought T-72s and T-80s cooked off easily because of the ammunition being stored in their turret, Ukraine has plenty of drone dropped munitions / kamikaze drones that will make quick work not only of a T-55's minimal armor, but there will be extremely low levels of crew survivability as well. Trained crews will become even more imporant than the tanks themselves and Russia will lose them in droves.
A couple points.And I think you're under the impressions that Ukraine has all the time and munitions in the world when its not. That speed of advance and you'll not reach Azov sea before Winter sets in. You also need to note that counter battery goes both ways, you have GMLRS, Russia has Lancet (which btw is proven very effective) and this tit for tat will continue for as long it takes, Its impossible for Ukraine to wipe clean Russian artillery, not even the Coalition during Desert Storm manage such let alone when you have no air superiority, I think Bakhmut gives people a general picture that Russian artillery is here to stay despite getting blown all over the place.
Just a reminder that Ukraine is still very far away from the first objective like Tokmak, Polohy, Staromlynivka etc, they're struggling to advance and progress are measured in mere meters, in front of them are towns turned fortress which from the look of it will take months to capture. Urban warfare are unforgiving for any attackers.
If Ukraine fails to keep up until winter, Russia wins and those T-55s, truck mounted S-60 etc does their job done.