NEWTOWN, Conn. - Production of the M-95 Degman main battle tank is dormant at the present time. However, the M-95's prime contractors maintain the vehicle's assembly line for as-needed manufacture in the event of new export orders or Croatian Army follow-on contracts.

Prior to the 2008 financial crisis, reports suggest that the Croatian Army had hoped to launch an initiative to replace a portion of its aging stocks of T-72 and M-84 MBTs with new-build M-95 Degman MBTs. However, with the arrival of the economic downturn in 2008 and ensuing implementation of domestic austerity measures in 2013, Croatian defense planners were compelled to reassess the Army's procurement priorities in order to maintain operational readiness in this more difficult fiscal climate.

The Croatian MoD came to the conclusion that the acquisition of new-build M-95 main-battle tanks was both fiscally untenable and operationally unnecessary for the Army's current service requirements. As a result, the MoD shifted the center of gravity for its MBT programs towards the modernization and retrofit of existing M-84 inventories.

In April 2013, the MoD and M-95 prime contractor Duro Dakovic signed a letter of intent agreeing to a contract worth approximately for the modernization and retrofit of all 72 of the Army's M-84 MBTs to the more modern M-84D standard.

Although preliminary work began later that year, the modernization project is scheduled to stretch through most of the forecast period with overhauls currently being undertaken at a low annual rate due to funding considerations. Open-source reporting indicates the prime contractor is overhauling around four to five tanks per year, at an approximate cost of HRK2.5 million per vehicle.

Duro Dakovic and the Croatian MoD signed a continuation contract for the retrofit program in September 2014. Given the Croatian MoD's dedication to cost-effective retrofit efforts and the lingering state of economic malaise throughout the Eurozone, significant domestic procurement of new build M-95s is unlikely to occur within the next decade.

The crowded nature of the international export market for armored vehicles, and particularly modernized T-72s and T-72 derivatives, leaves little room for the M-95 to distinguish itself from more established competitors.

As a result, the Forecast International Weapons Group does not anticipate that the M-95 will secure significant export sales through 2024.

Current operators of Yugoslavian M-84s could feasibly procure a small number of new-build M-95 systems due to operational familiarity with the systems. However, there is a greater likelihood that these operators would pursue modernization efforts of existing stocks to the similar M-84D standard.

Source: Forecast International Weapons Group
Author: T. Dolzall, Military Vehicles Analyst