In the 1950s at the height of the cold war, the Soviet Union designed the Oyject 279 (Object 279). as a tank that could withstand a nuclear blast. The disk-like body was designed so that it would not fall over in response to the blast and shock waves during a nuclear explosion.The body armor was 269mm thick at the top, 305mm thick at the front and is made to withstand APDS bullets and HEAT bullets.A prototype was completed in 1959 and various tests were conducted.

While the test results were good and the tank showed promise, it came at a time when the Soviet Union under the leadership of Khrushchev was moving away from heavy tanks.

The object 279M carried a short-barrel-mounted 152 mm gun.