Almost three and a half years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the most advanced battle tank of Russia, the T-14 Armata, has not yet made its appearance on the battlefield, not even temporarily, as the specialized portal has highlighted .
“Russian officials could deliberately retain the tank for fear that foreign buyers of the platform can reconsider their interest if the real performance of the vehicle (or its defects) becomes public,” said The National Interest.
“Armata, in general, is a bit expensive,” said Sergei Chemezov, head of the Russian Russian State Defense conglomerate, in an official statement last year. Chemezov described the T-14 as “the most revolutionary tank of the last decade”, but added that “far exceeds the functionality of existing tanks” and remains too expensive for the Russian army to give it priority. Meanwhile, Moscow continues to focus on the production and deployment of the modernized T-90m tank.
The Armata was presented for the first time during the 2015 Russian Victory Day parade in Moscow, where its advanced characteristics attracted worldwide attention. According to 19FortyFive, It was designed with an unmanned turret, a armored crew capsule and the AFGHANIT active protection system. At that time, analysts were impressed by the amount of innovations presented.
But ten years later, the T-14 does not seem to be closer to its use in real combat than when he paraded for the first time in the Red Square. Analysts argue that the program has been affected by exorbitant costs and technical obstacles, with less than 20 units delivered, according to reports.
The Russian defense industry has had difficulty overcoming crucial challenges, such as the development of a new tank engine, the integration of modern electronics into its weapons systems and even the production of the latest generation cannons and ammunition. These technological deficiencies have prevented the armata from materializing its conceptual advantages on the battlefield.
