Russian Troops to Get 20 Armata Tanks in 2021

The Russian military will take delivery of 20 T-14 Armata tanks by the end of this year.

During his visit to the UralVagonZavod, facility tasked with the manufacturing of the tanks, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko was told that Twenty T-14 tanks based on the Armata heavy multiservice tracked platform are planned for delivery.

"Under the terms of a state contract, the armor’s serial deliveries to the troops are implemented before the end of state trials. Now work is underway to produce a pilot batch before the end of the state trials to get the experience of operational evaluation in the troops," acting Head of the 47th Military Representative Office Major Dmitry Repin was quoted as saying by state-owned TASS on Friday.

UralVagonZavod, the Russian machine building company, hinted at a possible development of the tank’s unmanned version in August last year during the International Military-Technical Forum “Army-2020” held in Moscow.

T-14 Armata Tank

The T-14 Armata is a Russian 5th generation main battle tank based on the Armata Universal Combat Platform. The tank is operated by a three-member crew from an armored capsule at the front. The T-14 can be used as a reconnaissance, target designation and fire adjustment vehicle for self-propelled guns, surface-to-air missile systems and T-90 tanks.

It is said to be the first tank in the world to incorporate “network centric warfare” technologies. Another unique feature of the tank is the placement of crew in an armored capsule, separated from the ammunition load.

The tank’s armament includes a 7.62mm remote-control machine gun and 125mm smoothbore cannon. An unmanned version of the Armata is planned and is currently in development.

The T-14 has been painted with anti-slip coating, and features a lavatory to provide comforts to the crew during long combat missions.