From Prototype to Battlefield: a new Ukrainian weapon in action

Meet the Ukrainian BMP-55 IFV

Meet the Ukrainian BMP-55 IFV, Photos circulated online, Partially destroyed?, What we know about the situation, An odd prototype made from old parts, Converting older tanks, Little information is known about the BMP-55, Modernization efforts, The main gun was removed, Shifting the engine placement, Thick armor, Mine resistance, Better than other IFVs, A powerful weapon, Offensive capabilities, The idea behind the BMP-55, Captured by Russia or still in Ukrainian hands?

A rare prototype of a Ukrainian infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), developed from the remains of an older Soviet tank and known as the BMP-55, was apparently destroyed on the battlefield, according to images that were shared on the internet in April 2025.

Photos circulated online

Meet the Ukrainian BMP-55 IFV, Photos circulated online, Partially destroyed?, What we know about the situation, An odd prototype made from old parts, Converting older tanks, Little information is known about the BMP-55, Modernization efforts, The main gun was removed, Shifting the engine placement, Thick armor, Mine resistance, Better than other IFVs, A powerful weapon, Offensive capabilities, The idea behind the BMP-55, Captured by Russia or still in Ukrainian hands?

Photos of a damaged BMP-55 began circulating on social media as early as April 22nd. They may have first been posted by the Vodohrai Telegram channel. The images appeared to show that the prototype vehicle had been abandoned or destroyed somewhere on the frontlines in Ukraine.

Photo Credit: X @T_90AK

Partially destroyed?

Meet the Ukrainian BMP-55 IFV, Photos circulated online, Partially destroyed?, What we know about the situation, An odd prototype made from old parts, Converting older tanks, Little information is known about the BMP-55, Modernization efforts, The main gun was removed, Shifting the engine placement, Thick armor, Mine resistance, Better than other IFVs, A powerful weapon, Offensive capabilities, The idea behind the BMP-55, Captured by Russia or still in Ukrainian hands?

“It still has tracks, mortars for setting up smoke screens, and the remains of an anti-tank missile launcher,” explained Militarnyi about the state the  BMP-55 appeared to be in in the photos. 

Photo Credit: X @T_90AK

What we know about the situation

Meet the Ukrainian BMP-55 IFV, Photos circulated online, Partially destroyed?, What we know about the situation, An odd prototype made from old parts, Converting older tanks, Little information is known about the BMP-55, Modernization efforts, The main gun was removed, Shifting the engine placement, Thick armor, Mine resistance, Better than other IFVs, A powerful weapon, Offensive capabilities, The idea behind the BMP-55, Captured by Russia or still in Ukrainian hands?

How the BMP-55 made its way onto the battlefield was unclear at the time and there has still been no reason given for the situation for why seen on the frontlines, though it can be assumed the prototype vehicle was likely sent into battle at some point before it was captured immobilized.  

An odd prototype made from old parts

Meet the Ukrainian BMP-55 IFV, Photos circulated online, Partially destroyed?, What we know about the situation, An odd prototype made from old parts, Converting older tanks, Little information is known about the BMP-55, Modernization efforts, The main gun was removed, Shifting the engine placement, Thick armor, Mine resistance, Better than other IFVs, A powerful weapon, Offensive capabilities, The idea behind the BMP-55, Captured by Russia or still in Ukrainian hands?

The BMP-55 combat vehicle is an odd prototype weapon that was developed from the chassis of a Soviet T-55 tank but upgraded with modern systems to make it a more formidable modern weapon.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons, Uncedited, Public Domain

Converting older tanks

Meet the Ukrainian BMP-55 IFV, Photos circulated online, Partially destroyed?, What we know about the situation, An odd prototype made from old parts, Converting older tanks, Little information is known about the BMP-55, Modernization efforts, The main gun was removed, Shifting the engine placement, Thick armor, Mine resistance, Better than other IFVs, A powerful weapon, Offensive capabilities, The idea behind the BMP-55, Captured by Russia or still in Ukrainian hands?

“The main idea was to convert outdated tanks that no longer met the requirements of the modern battlefield into armored vehicles for infantry transportation,” Militarnyi noted. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Khaosaming, Own Work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Little information is known about the BMP-55

Meet the Ukrainian BMP-55 IFV, Photos circulated online, Partially destroyed?, What we know about the situation, An odd prototype made from old parts, Converting older tanks, Little information is known about the BMP-55, Modernization efforts, The main gun was removed, Shifting the engine placement, Thick armor, Mine resistance, Better than other IFVs, A powerful weapon, Offensive capabilities, The idea behind the BMP-55, Captured by Russia or still in Ukrainian hands?

There isn’t a lot of information about the BMP-55 but we do know that it was developed by the Kharkiv Machine Building Design Bureau (KMBD) according to the Defence Blog. 

Modernization efforts

Meet the Ukrainian BMP-55 IFV, Photos circulated online, Partially destroyed?, What we know about the situation, An odd prototype made from old parts, Converting older tanks, Little information is known about the BMP-55, Modernization efforts, The main gun was removed, Shifting the engine placement, Thick armor, Mine resistance, Better than other IFVs, A powerful weapon, Offensive capabilities, The idea behind the BMP-55, Captured by Russia or still in Ukrainian hands?

The BMP-55 is a prototype combat vehicle that was part of a Ukrianian modernization effort aimed at repurposing the chassis of older Soviet-era T-55 tanks so they could be deployed in battle. 

The main gun was removed

Meet the Ukrainian BMP-55 IFV, Photos circulated online, Partially destroyed?, What we know about the situation, An odd prototype made from old parts, Converting older tanks, Little information is known about the BMP-55, Modernization efforts, The main gun was removed, Shifting the engine placement, Thick armor, Mine resistance, Better than other IFVs, A powerful weapon, Offensive capabilities, The idea behind the BMP-55, Captured by Russia or still in Ukrainian hands?

The main turret of the T-55 was scrapped and the vehicle’s engine and transmission were relocated to the front section of the BMP-55’s hull, giving it an odd appearance but room to carry infantry soldiers. 

Photo Credit: X @T_90AK

Shifting the engine placement

Meet the Ukrainian BMP-55 IFV, Photos circulated online, Partially destroyed?, What we know about the situation, An odd prototype made from old parts, Converting older tanks, Little information is known about the BMP-55, Modernization efforts, The main gun was removed, Shifting the engine placement, Thick armor, Mine resistance, Better than other IFVs, A powerful weapon, Offensive capabilities, The idea behind the BMP-55, Captured by Russia or still in Ukrainian hands?

Shifting the engine placement allowed for a rear mounted ramp to be added, which in turn facilitates the faster dismount of infantry while the BMP-55 is operating in battle.  

Photo Credit: X @T_90AK

Thick armor

Meet the Ukrainian BMP-55 IFV, Photos circulated online, Partially destroyed?, What we know about the situation, An odd prototype made from old parts, Converting older tanks, Little information is known about the BMP-55, Modernization efforts, The main gun was removed, Shifting the engine placement, Thick armor, Mine resistance, Better than other IFVs, A powerful weapon, Offensive capabilities, The idea behind the BMP-55, Captured by Russia or still in Ukrainian hands?

According to Defence Blog, what specifications we have rate the BMP-55’s armor at 40mm, meaning it can withstand 14.5mm armor piercing rounds to NATO Level 4 standards. 

Photo Credit: X @T_90AK

Mine resistance

Meet the Ukrainian BMP-55 IFV, Photos circulated online, Partially destroyed?, What we know about the situation, An odd prototype made from old parts, Converting older tanks, Little information is known about the BMP-55, Modernization efforts, The main gun was removed, Shifting the engine placement, Thick armor, Mine resistance, Better than other IFVs, A powerful weapon, Offensive capabilities, The idea behind the BMP-55, Captured by Russia or still in Ukrainian hands?

The BMP-55 was also given a significant upgrade to its hull armor, which can reportedly protect against a TM-57 anti-tank mine, which meets the  NATO Level 5 standard. 

Better than other IFVs

Meet the Ukrainian BMP-55 IFV, Photos circulated online, Partially destroyed?, What we know about the situation, An odd prototype made from old parts, Converting older tanks, Little information is known about the BMP-55, Modernization efforts, The main gun was removed, Shifting the engine placement, Thick armor, Mine resistance, Better than other IFVs, A powerful weapon, Offensive capabilities, The idea behind the BMP-55, Captured by Russia or still in Ukrainian hands?

Militarnyi reported that the BMP-55 was given better armor protection than older Soviet BMP-1 and BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs). 

A powerful weapon

Meet the Ukrainian BMP-55 IFV, Photos circulated online, Partially destroyed?, What we know about the situation, An odd prototype made from old parts, Converting older tanks, Little information is known about the BMP-55, Modernization efforts, The main gun was removed, Shifting the engine placement, Thick armor, Mine resistance, Better than other IFVs, A powerful weapon, Offensive capabilities, The idea behind the BMP-55, Captured by Russia or still in Ukrainian hands?

All-in-all, the BMP-55 is a powerful infantry fighting vehicle designed to ferry up to ten soldiers into battle while being crewed by three operators who can provided a significant amount of firepower while on mission. 

Offensive capabilities

Meet the Ukrainian BMP-55 IFV, Photos circulated online, Partially destroyed?, What we know about the situation, An odd prototype made from old parts, Converting older tanks, Little information is known about the BMP-55, Modernization efforts, The main gun was removed, Shifting the engine placement, Thick armor, Mine resistance, Better than other IFVs, A powerful weapon, Offensive capabilities, The idea behind the BMP-55, Captured by Russia or still in Ukrainian hands?

The War Zone reported images of the BMP-55 suggested it was fitted with a remote weapon station featuring a 12.7mm heavy machine gun and a pair of anti-tank missile launchers. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @mag_vodogray / Edited by The Daily Digest

The idea behind the BMP-55

Meet the Ukrainian BMP-55 IFV, Photos circulated online, Partially destroyed?, What we know about the situation, An odd prototype made from old parts, Converting older tanks, Little information is known about the BMP-55, Modernization efforts, The main gun was removed, Shifting the engine placement, Thick armor, Mine resistance, Better than other IFVs, A powerful weapon, Offensive capabilities, The idea behind the BMP-55, Captured by Russia or still in Ukrainian hands?

The BMP-55 was only a prototype and conceived mainly as a possible export upgrade option that offered a buying nation a cost-effective way to update and repurpose older T-55s tanks into heavy infantry fighting vehicles according to Defence Blog. 

Captured by Russia or still in Ukrainian hands?

Meet the Ukrainian BMP-55 IFV, Photos circulated online, Partially destroyed?, What we know about the situation, An odd prototype made from old parts, Converting older tanks, Little information is known about the BMP-55, Modernization efforts, The main gun was removed, Shifting the engine placement, Thick armor, Mine resistance, Better than other IFVs, A powerful weapon, Offensive capabilities, The idea behind the BMP-55, Captured by Russia or still in Ukrainian hands?

"The vehicle, partially covered in snow, looks to have been abandoned, although it shows no obvious signs of damage. It’s unclear whether the vehicle is still in Ukrainian hands or if it was captured by Russian forces," The War Zone explained at the time.

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