The T95 medium tank development program (not to be confused with the T95) started from a requirement to replace the aging M48 Patton. Two proposals were looked at, that being the T95 equipped with a 90 mm gun and the T96 with a 105 mm gun. The T95 program started with the base T95, which was equipped with a two-plane stabilizer and OPTAC fire control system, and the T95E1 was a further development of this with the two-plane stabilizer removed but with a simplified fire control system installed. The T95 program as a whole ended up being cancelled a few years later after multiple variants due to technological shortcomings, including poor accuracy of the smoothbore gun, problematic X-shaped transmission and overall marginal to nonexistent improvements over the M48 it was meant to supersede, although it was not without merits as the T95E7 turret evolved into the M60's 'long-nose/needle nose' turret upgrade.

The T95E1 was introduced in Update 1.69 "Regia Aeronautica". Equipped with a 90 mm smoothbore cannon capable of firing APFSDS, this tank is the first tank in the American tree that uses the ammunition type. Without some of the new tools found on other vehicles such as a stabilizer, laser rangefinder or thermal vision, one might assume the T95E1 is inferior to its competition. However, the T95E1 carries its own weight with a stable transmission, fairly high shell ballistics and a highly inclined turret that can deflect shots at range. Mobility is standard as is its armour protection, and overall the tank's greatest asset is that it is well-rounded to a fault and can handle most terrain and ranges with little issue, without the turret speed penalties contemporaries have to deal with such as the T-55A.