As of: April 4, 2024, 7:22 p.m
By: Patrick Mayer
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Vladimir Putin's regime is holding back a tank in the Ukraine war. According to assessments from London, Russia's arms industry is struggling with the weapon.
Moscow - In order to fend off the attack by Russia on the ground, which violates international law, the Ukrainian army is again increasingly relying on the Javelin anti-tank weapon from the USA.
Tanks from Russia: Moscow will probably not send T-14 Armata to Ukraine
Kiev, for example, is eagerly awaiting more Leopard 2 main battle tanks. As the American news magazine
Forbes
reports, citing the online portal
InfoDefensa
, Spain plans to deliver 20 old and refurbished Leopard 2A4s from the 1980s. The opponent also has to be patient. At the same time, Moscow's armed forces in the war zone are apparently waiting in vain for the Kremlin regime's most modern tank. We're talking about the T-14 Armata.
“It has been confirmed that the Armata main battle tank has entered service with the Russian military, but will not be stationed in Ukraine,” writes the British Ministry of Defense in an analysis of the Ukraine war on Monday (April 1): “This is most likely due to “The high cost and potential reputational damage of losing a ‘prestige’ vehicle in combat.”
Russia's losses in the war: Moscow apparently lost 2,600 tanks in Ukraine
London is closely monitoring war events through its secret services and regularly makes assessments. “Where is the T-14 Armata?” asked the British in a post on X (formerly Twitter). And then provided the alleged answer: “Russia’s prestige vehicle has so far been missing from the Ukrainian battlefield. The Russian defense industry claims the Armata is too expensive to replace. This fear comes because Ukraine has destroyed 2,600 Russian tanks since the invasion began. Because of the enemy’s lethality, Russia is not using its best weapons.”
What is striking is that, as the Ukrainian General Staff in Kiev stated, according to
The Kyiv Independent
on Wednesday (April 3), the Ukrainians claim to have destroyed or captured more than 7,000 Russian battle tanks. The numbers vary quite a bit. Regardless: Is the use of the T-14 Armata too sensitive for autocrat Vladimir Putin's Moscow regime?
This fear comes because Ukraine has destroyed 2,600 Russian tanks since the invasion began.
British Ministry of Defense at X (formerly Twitter)
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Vladimir Putin's T-14 Armata tank: Even a Russian general is skeptical
A State Duma politician is even said to doubt the capabilities of the Russian T-14 Armata tank. And: The
German Press Agency (dpa)
recently reported
citing the general director of the manufacturer Rostec, Sergey Chemezov, that the T-14 is technically superior to most other tanks, but too expensive for use in Ukraine. Instead, the army should continue to be equipped with the slightly worse but cheaper T-90 tanks.
According to unconfirmed reports, the Armata is estimated to cost between $4 million and $5 million each. Is it too expensive to risk carelessly against anti-tank weapons such as the Javelin system or FPV kamikaze drones? The Russian general (
out of service, editor
) and Duma politician Viktor Sobolev described the Armata
as “an unsuccessful and unprotected tank” in an interview with the Russian news service
NSN
. He criticized alleged deficiencies in armor and other crew protection systems and questioned the effectiveness of maintenance in combat operations.
Russian soldiers with T-14 Armata battle tanks at a military parade in Moscow in May 2022. (Archive photo) © IMAGO / SNA
Russian army tanks: Vladimir Putin's “Armata” is causing problems
The tank, which was built in Nizhny Tagil by the arms manufacturer Uralvagonzavod, which is part of the state-owned Rostec group, and was first introduced in May 2015, was actually intended to replace the older T-90s in the Russian army long ago. However, this has not happened so far due to technical problems. The T-14 is actually said to be far ahead of other Russian tanks in many respects.
Even the protection of the crew was given priority during development between 2010 and 2015, in contrast to the previous Russian approach. For example, there is an ammunition magazine that is separate from the crew; on the old T-72 tanks, this is placed in the turret directly below the commander and the gunner, which is said to have cost the lives of many Russian soldiers in the Ukraine War. In the Armata, however, the three-man crew - commander, gunner and driver - are all housed in the bow of the hull behind the strong bow armor. This armor is intended to block projectiles with a penetration power of up to 90 centimeters - which would be remarkable.
T-14 Armata |
|
|---|---|
Crew: |
3 soldiers (commander, driver, gunner) |
Length Width Height: |
10.8m/3.5m/3.3m |
Weight: |
48 tons |
Main armament: |
125-millimeter smoothbore gun 2A82-1M |
Secondary armament: |
2 x machine guns in caliber 12.7 mm and 7.62 mm |
Speed: |
90 km/h |
Putin's T-14 Armata tank: not yet seen in the Ukraine war
The comparatively low weight of 48 tons makes the Armata mobile and maneuverable; the latest versions of the Bundeswehr Leopard, the 2A6 and 2A7, weigh around 62 tons. In addition, the T-14 tank is supposed to reach a speed of 90 km/h on the road. For comparison: Many other tanks barely reach 50 km/h off-road.
In addition to the unmanned turret system, the main innovations are supposedly long-range tube guided missiles for combating tanks and aircraft. As well as the installation of a distance-active hardkill system, which is intended to combat incoming anti-tank projectiles and kamikaze drones with a hail of scrap fired at lightning speed. However, there is a lack of independently verifiable video recordings. At least the T-14 Armata has not yet appeared in Ukraine.
(pm)