It has a top speed of 80 km/h and could travel 500 kilometers on one tank: the T-14 Armata. If we are to believe the words of Vladimir Putin’s propagandist, TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov (59), the tank could soon be deployed in Ukraine.
The Russian shared a 24-second video on Telegram, which reportedly shows the “best main battle tank in the world” during exercises.
“The first images of the combat training of the crews of a tank battalion equipped with the latest Russian T-14 Armata tanks at one of the test sites,” Solovyov comments on the scenes.
“It makes it easier for young soldiers”
The 50-ton colossus is controlled with a gamepad, similar to the controllers on game consoles. “I spent two years trying to convince the designers to build the console similar to the Sony Playstation gamepad,” the vice president of the manufacturer, Albert Bakov, told “Stern.de” at the time. The reason: “It makes it easier for young soldiers to become familiar with it.”
In May 2015, the main battle tank was presented to the public on Red Square in Moscow. Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin (70) wanted to demonstrate Russia’s military power with it, Western observers were somewhat nervous. After the bang, however, it quickly became silent about the alleged super tank.
No mass production possible
It remains to be seen whether Solovyov’s euphoria is justified. A prototype of the tank continued to smoke when it was presented in 2015. The Russian army must receive 2,300 units from the manufacturer Uralvagonzavod by 2020, of which a maximum of 20 units will actually be put into service by mid-2022.
It is not only the high production costs of about seven million Swiss francs each that have prevented mass production until now. Russia lacks the necessary components. The background is Western sanctions in the technology sector, which make procurement more difficult. (nad)