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Yugoslavian Armor Fleet

Is a Mix of New and (Some Very) Old

by David M. Phipps, Threat Branch, DFD, Fort Knox

Following the break-up of the FormerYugoslavia, the Yugoslavian Army reor-ganized in 1992 to reflect the territorialchanges and loss of equipment that hadtaken place.

The active force is now 85,000-90,000.Half of these troops are conscripts doingtheir 15-month national service. In addi-tion, the trained reserves and paramilitaryforces increase the size of the army to550,000.

The basic doctrine of the army is com-bined arms, multiple company/battaliongroupings of light infantry and tanks sup-ported by artillery. Their former doctrinestressed attacking lines of communicationand support facilities. Yugoslavian forcesseek to concentrate quickly for offensiveoperations, attack, and quickly disperse.Their standard doctrinal plan is to use theterrain in a defensive war of attrition.This doctrine is from a tradition of plan-ning for a partisan war.

Yugoslavia is unique in that it is an armsproducer/supplier. In the past, they have

sold arms, ammunition, equipment, andsub-systems around the world, most no-tably the sale of M-84s to Kuwait. Someof the first M-84s delivered prior to Sad-dams invasion in 1990 ended up in theIraqi inventory. The remaining tanksordered arrived in time for the KuwaitArmy to use in Desert Storm. Otherknown M-84 sales were to the Yugoslav-ian Army and possibly to Libya andSyria.

On paper, the Yugoslavian armor corpsis very impressive, with some 41 tankbattalions, each with 31 tanks. They arecurrently 10 battalion sets short of thisgoal. Of their tank fleet of 983 tanks, only283 are modern tanks (i.e. M-84, T-72),with the majority being T-55s.

Unique is the reserve forces use of an-cient T-34s and M-18s (Hellcats) fromthe antitank units as tank support.

The most modern tank in the inventoryis the Yugoslavian-made M-84. It ismodeled after the T-72, and the exteriorresembles the T-72, but with the additionof a wind sensor and an improved gun-ners sight housing.

The fire control systemhas been described as likean M60A3 minus a ther-mal sight. The systemconsists of a gunners con-trol handle, ballistic com-puter, cross wind sensor,gunners day sight, gun-ners night sight, and two-plane stabilization. Thenight sight used by the M-84 is a second-generation

passive system.

Sales flyers claim a first-round probability of hithigher than 60 percent for their 125mmgun system. This system was originallydesigned for their T-55 fleet. Like the T-72, the M-84 fires HEAT, HE-FRAG andHVAPDS-FS. The on-board load is 22rounds in the carousel and 23 roundsstored around the inside.

The M-84 has a crew of three, with anautoloader that feeds the 125mm maingun at a maximum rate of six to eightrounds per minute. The gun, which isstabilized, can also be loaded manuallyat two rounds per minute. There are 2,000rounds of 7.62mm ammunition on boardfor the coax machine gun and 300 roundsof 12.7mm ammunition for the tankcommanders weapon.

The M-84 sales brochure describes thetanks armor protection as achieved bylow profile of optimum shaping and amulti-layer sandwich armor withequivalent penetration resistance exceed-ing 600mm.

A 12-cylinder, V-12 supercharged dieselpowers the M-84.

The M-84s rangefinder is a Nd YAGlaser integrated into the day/night sight.The night sight channel is a second-generation image intensifier, not a ther-mal viewer.

Sales brochures claim that the T-84 canshoot on the move, with built-in targettracking features and a capability for TCto gunner target hand-off.

The brochure also claims NBC protec-tion with a system that automatically

makes the fighting compartment airtight.The fire extinguishers are also automatic.

The M-84 weighs 42 metric tons.

An ironic aspect of the T-84s produc-

tion history is that the major parts of thevehicle were manufactured in differentlocations in the former Yugoslavia. Withthe break-up of the federation, and theloss of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia,Slovenia, and Macedonia, the factoriesunder the control of the remaining Serbsand Montinegrins manufactured only 23percent of the tanks parts.Janes notesthat this problem may have been over-come and has received reports that pro-duction is underway again.

The bulk of the Yugoslavian armorforce is about 600 T-55s. Some 50 T-72swere purchased from the Soviet Union

after the decision was made to make theT-84 in Yugoslavia, but these tanks werepurchased to train tankers until the T-84began to emerge from the factories.

Armored infantry fighting vehicles in-clude over 500 M80s, a locally producedAPC, and six YPR-765s which weresiezed from Dutch UN peacekeepingtroops at Srebenitza in 1995.Janespointsout that these captured vehicles have ap-peared in Kosovo. In addition, there are66 BRDM2 armored reconnaissance ve-hicles.

Exterior of the Yugoslavian T-84 appearssimilar to the T-72, on which it wasbased, but many internal changes weredeveloped by the Yugoslavians whenthey adopted the design.

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Some World War II-era equipment hasbeen seen in film clips on the eveningnews They include U.S.-supplied M-18Hellcat tank destroyers, the fastest ar-mored vehicle of WWII, speeding down

a road in Kosovo, and also about 100Soviet-supplied T-34-85s.

Sources:Janes Armor and Arti llery, 1998-99;

Janes World Armies, 1999; The Yugoslavian Fed-

eral Directorate of Supplys 1991 brochure on the T-

84, and the DoD Fomer Yugoslavia Handbook,

1993.

Although similar to a T-72, close-up of T-84 turret roof shows two differences: thewind sensor tube at ce nter, above gun mantlet, and the sighting head of the fire con-trol system seen directly above the smoke grenade launchers.

Museum Pieces,Still in Service

The Serbs seem to have preservedevery armored vehicle that has everbeen in their inventory. FollowingWorld War II, the Yugoslavians re-ceived surplus Western equipment,some of it still in service. An M-18ank destroyer like the one at upper

left, seen fighting in France in 1944,was spotted rolling through Kosovoon the evening news late in March.

There are still 100 Soviet T-34-85s inheir inventory like the one above.

Most of the fleet, however, is com-posed of T-55s, some modified withadd-on armor packages, like the suitemounted on the East German T-55 atleft.

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