T-14 Armata

Before the advent of the Armata, Russia had no tank of its own because all available tanks had been developed in the Soviet Union. Indicatively, the T-14 was conceived and tested by a team of engineers aged 30−40, on average.

The T-14 project was launched in 2009 at the Ural Transport Engineering Design Bureau, part of Uralvagonmash Corporation. The Armata was unveiled in 2015 during the Victory Day Parade in Moscow.

The new Russian tank was a big event for the military world, with many Western media outlets discussing this innovative technology prior to the parade. Jane’s Defence Weekly noted the Armata’s entirely new design and said the tank highlighted the most substantial change in Russian military equipment since the 1960s and ‘70s. The Telegraph quoted Russian experts and speculated that the Armata could outpace the US Army Abrams tank, the British Challenger and the German Leopard.

“We have conceptualized 28 advanced fighting vehicles based on the Armata platform,” UVZ General Director Oleg Siyenko told RIA Novosti. “They can be built from one platform that can accommodate air defense systems and heavy-duty armored vehicles. This will help standardize repair kits, as well as tools and components to quickly replace various units and systems.”

The Terminator-3 fighting vehicle, a descendant of the Terminator-1 and Terminator-2, will be based on the Armata. These export-oriented vehicles are similar to T-72 tanks.

The tank’s design details remain top secret, but its appearance and data from open sources show that the tank embodies unprecedented engineering solutions. An unmanned turret is the Armata’s main feature, with its crew inside a special armored capsule. “This new technology isolates the crew from the ammunition and fuel; the armored capsule is well-protected on all sides and enhances crew survivability if the tank is hit,” Oleg Siyenko explains.

The unusual silhouette and special coating reduce the tank’s visibility in thermal and radar modes. The Armata’s armor can withstand any available anti-tank weapon.

The Armata features multiple redundancy systems to duplicate all processes. The fire-control system provides manual cannon control and firing. “The Armata is even fool-proof, with its data control network warning the crew of possible malfunctions,” Siyenko says.

Notably, the tank can be easily equipped with any new weapon or upgraded units and systems. UVZ officials stress that no other tank in the world can match its potential so far.

The T-14 is the world’s first tank that perfectly fits inside the network-centric war concept. Instead of engaging single vehicles, it is intended for joint combat missions.

Network-centric warfare merges all combatants, including commanders, military equipment, service personnel and reconnaissance teams, into an integral data network. This provides for synchronized operations, making it possible to inform all combatants online. It becomes possible to quickly control forces and resources, to speed up the pace of battle and to hit enemy forces more efficiently. Network-centric warfare includes drones, “smart” weapons, high-capacity secure/hardened communications channels and radio-electronic warfare systems. The US Armed Forces were the first to use a network-centric warfare concept in the late 1990s.

Network-centric warfare focuses on combat modules rather than individual vehicles. “This ‘new war’ implies that the tank no longer decides the outcome of a battle. Military engagement of tanks has been relegated to the background, giving way to battles between combined task forces in which the tank remains an important component of the battle formation,” UVZ Deputy General Director Vyacheslav Khalitov explains. “We need to establish self-contained combat modules consisting of fighting and support vehicles. But this will be an integral unit. Certainly, it is necessary to change various strategies and methods for using tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, and this will make it possible to include these specifications in vehicles in the Armata family, especially the T-14 tank and the T-15 infantry fighting vehicles.”

With the advent of the Armata, foreign military equipment manufacturers began implementing similar projects. According to the media, Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and France’s Nexter are preparing a joint venture that will manufacture military equipment for ground forces. In 2016, sources said both companies would move to develop a new tank to replace the French Leclerc and the German Leopard in the future.

UVZ officials are skeptical of media stories of attempts to catch up with Russian innovators, believing that the Russians have outstripped their foreign colleagues by at least ten years.

Germany’s Stern magazine writes that the latest innovations of the Russian defense industry will force Western countries to modernize their armies more quickly. According to Stern, the Armata tank is the first real Russian innovation since the breakup of the USSR. The very fast and maneuverable Armata also utilizes the best achievements of the Russian tank industry.

The Armata will continue to be upgraded, all the more as its unique design provides for rapid modernization.

The Armata project continues to evolve. The tank’s standard 125 mm cannon can be replaced with a 152 mm version. Everything depends on the client, the developers say. “We will install just about anything,” UVZ General Director Oleg Siyenko told RIA Novosti. “We are used to looking ahead, and we are independently implementing many research and development projects under military contract. This hard-hitting 152 mm cannon is 30 percent more efficient than its predecessor. For example, its bore is covered with alloyed steel and can fire more rounds without regular replacement or repair. We hope that we will receive new ammunition soon.”

In addition, the up-to-date Russian Armata tank will eventually become unmanned. According to UVZ CEO Oleg Siyenko, the Armata’s current equipment already makes it possible to automate many manual processes, including steering. “It’s possible that future wars will be waged by machines, not humans; so we specified robotic technologies in the Armata. We don’t doubt that an unmanned Armata is the vehicle of the future.”

Under the state rearmament program, the Government has ordered 2,300 T-14 tanks until 2020. A pilot 20-tank run was manufactured in 2015, and full production started a year later. At the same time, the military is using a new testing system to accept the new tanks and make design adjustments. Siyenko believes that the Armata will be mass produced starting this year.