As of: April 7, 2024, 7:02 p.m
By: Yekaterina Jalunina
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Press
Split
There were allegations of corruption during construction: the prototype of the “Azovets” super tank has been missing for years. Russian troops have now found him.
Mariupol – The Ukraine war has revealed an old tank. The “Azovets” was actually considered missing since 2016. But now Russian soldiers have apparently unearthed the famous Ukrainian prototype of the tank support vehicle on the outskirts of Mariupol in the Donetsk region. The Russian state news agency
RIA Novosti
reported this on Saturday (April 6).
The “Azovets”: A lost prototype from Ukraine suddenly appears at the front
The Azovets, a prototype based on the T-64 main battle tank, was designed for Ukraine in 2015 by the Azov engineering group under the leadership of the former technical director of the Malyshev Defense Plant. The design of the vehicle benefited significantly from the Azov Regiment's experience in combat operations around Mariupol.
Tank symbol image © IMAGO/Zoonar.com/Sofiia Potanina
According to the Portal Defense blog,
the 41-ton vehicle has
two turrets, each with a double-barreled 23-millimeter aircraft cannon, a PKT machine gun and launchers for anti-tank missiles. The equipment also includes innovative reactive armor, manufactured in Ukraine, as well as camera systems to control the weaponry.
Monster tank Azovets: scandal of corruption and mysterious disappearance
The “Azovets” gained notoriety after it
was presented by then Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov at the end of November 2015 and released for further development, according to the pro-Ukrainian blog
Militaryland
. The first tests took place in April 2016, but were interrupted after just a month. An investigation revealed that the cameras used in the vehicle were actually intended for home intercoms and their origins can be traced back to Chinese production. This led to allegations of corruption and the confiscation of the Azovets.
In October of the same year, the prototype was reportedly stolen under mysterious circumstances by unknown persons.
(jek)