Everything You Need to Know About Russia's Lethal Tank Force
Dave Majumdar
July 16, 2016
While the developmental T-14 Armata captures the spotlight, the bulk of Russia’s armored forces consist of upgraded T-72B3 main battle tanks. Other tanks like the T-90 and the legacy T-80U are still relatively rare. Nonetheless, Russia’s current armored force meets Moscow’s requirements even without the Armata—which is both expensive and potentially unneeded. In fact, Russia might get more bang for the buck by addressing the two key weaknesses of its armor—a new gun design and new ammunition.
“The Armata is a capable looking platform, however it remains to be seen what the tank variant of it actually looks like—the final version” Michael Kofman, a research scientist specializing in Russian military affairs at CNA Corporation, told The National Interest. “It’s going to field trials. It’s still in development, and, frankly, it will take another two years to see what changes it will go through.”
Initially, the Russian military is likely to start deploying the new tank in company-sized elements in the Western half of the country before scaling the units up to battalions. Follow-on fielding will depend on just how well the T-14 performs in an operational environment. “The Russians will adjust accordingly,” Kofman said.
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