The tests of the anti-tank obstacles that Latvia has placed on its border with Russia

In August we saw here the obstacles that Latvia is putting on its borders with Russia to stop a possible invasion.

The military obstacles Latvia is putting up to stop a Russian invasion
Spanish armored vehicles in action in a series of photos from the Latvian Army

Latvia shares borders with Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus and Russia. These last two countries have authoritarian regimes that have been directing threats against their NATO neighbours, prompting the Baltic republics to take preemptive measures. Last summer, Latvia began placing classic anti-tank obstacles on its border with Russia. Recently, the Latvian Army has put these defences to the test with a T-55 tank. Three days ago, the Latvian Army published this video showing the tests carried out with the so-called dragon's teeth:

Latvia received 5 T-55AMs donated by Poland in 1999 and three T-55AM2s donated by the Czech Republic in 2000. The Latvian Army does not maintain these tanks in active service, but the three Czech-made T-55AM2s are still in use for training purposes. The T-55 is a very old model, dating back to the 1950s, but Russia is still using this model in its invasion of Ukraine, to make up for the huge losses of more modern tanks that Russian industry is unable to replace due to Western sanctions.

The T-55AM is a 1970 variant, equipped with a Volna fire control system, smoke grenade launchers, reinforced turret and hull protection, and a gun stabilizer allowing it to fire on the move.

The photos you see here were released by the Latvian Army this week. They were taken by Sergeant Eriks Kukutis on 11 October during the testing at an undisclosed military facility under the supervision of Lt Col Kaspars Lazdiņš, Inspector of Engineers at the Joint Staff of the Latvian National Armed Forces.

Here we can see the tests with the dragon's teeth, which apparently proved very effective in hindering the advance of the T-55.

This is the state in which the dragon's teeth were left after testing. It should be noted that these obstacles are suitable for slowing down a mass advance, but they are not effective in stopping it. During World War II, dragon's teeth barriers were bypassed by military engineers by blowing up the obstacles at a certain point and allowing vehicles to pass through, allowing defenders to concentrate fire on a specific point.

The tests also include obstacles with railroad tracks cut and nailed into the ground, an easy and simple way to make it difficult for vehicles to pass.

Here we see tests with Czech hedgehogs. Two sizes of models were tested. In this photo we see the largest of them. These obstacles were first used in Czechoslovakia in 1938 against the advancing Germans, hence their name.

Stress tests were also carried out on the so-called "Lego blocks", the concrete blocks with spikes on top of them, and shots were fired from the T-55's 100 mm cannon.