Russia's New Armata Tanks Will Finally Enter The Service This Year.

T-14 Armata Main Battle tank during the victory parade in 2015 (Image: Wikipedia)

Popular Mechanics: Russia to Receive First New 'Armata' Tanks in 2019

Moscow’s next generation tank is behind schedule and will be purchased in far fewer numbers than originally planned.

Russia’s brand-new T-14 Armata main battle tank will finally enter service in 2019, but in numbers far fewer than originally anticipated. The manufacturer will deliver twelve Armatas and four armored recovery vehicle variants by the end of 2019. That’s far short of the thousand or more tanks that were originally supposed to be in service by now.

In 2015, Russia unexpectedly debuted a new main battle tank. Known as T-14 Armata, the tank was a break from previous Russian Army tanks and Moscow’s first “clean sheet” tank design in decades. Western media tabloids predicted that the tank was “20 years ahead of anything in the West." The head of the Russian Ground Forces at the time, Colonel-General Oleg Salyukov, told state media that Russia would have 2,300 Armatas by 2020, by which time it would comprise 70 percent of Russia’s tank inventory.

Read more ....

Update #1: Russian Troops to Receive 16 Armata Tanks by Yearend (Defense World)
Update #2: Russia's Military to Receive 12 T-14 'Armata' Battle Tanks in 2019 (The Diplomat)

WNU Editor: The original plan was to have 2,300 by the end of 2020. That is not going to happen. The reason why is typical of all new Russian military projects. Cost and development problems.

What Do American Tank Crews Think Of Russia's Next-Generation T-14 Armata Tank

Russian T-14 tanks with the Armata Universal Combat Platform at the 2016 Victory Day parade. Reuters

Business Insider: We asked Abrams crew members what they think about Russia's next-generation T-14 Armata tank

* I asked crew members of a US Abrams tank what they thought about Russia's next-generation T-14 Armata tank.
* They said it seemed like a capable platform but that its autoloader and automated turret didn't seem practical.
* They also said the idea that the tank could eventually be unmanned seemed rather unrealistic.

FORT BLISS, Texas — Crew members of a US Abrams tank were giving me a tour of their tank on the sandy training grounds of Fort Bliss when I asked them what they thought about Russia's next-generation T-14 Armata tank.

At first, they were a little taken aback and looked at one another as if they weren't sure whether they should answer. But they agreed to give their opinions when I said I wouldn't publish their names.

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WNU Editor: They are not impressed.

Will Russia's Armata T-14 Tank Make A Difference On The Battlefield?

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Business Insider: Russia's Armata T-14 Tank Could Be Super Dangerous on the Battlefield (But There Is One Simple Problem)

A British Army intelligence report offers an alarmist assessment of Russia’s new T-14 Armata main battle tank. Most U.S. defense analysts, however, are much more measured in their analysis of the new Russian machines. While the T-14 will likely be an excellent tank when it becomes operational, it is not quite the “revolution” that the British claim it to be. Moreover, it is far too expensive to produce in mass numbers.

“Without hyperbole, Armata represents the most revolutionary step change in tank design in the last half century,” states a British Army intelligence report cited by The Telegraph.

But most U.S. assessments suggest that’s exactly what the British report is: hyperbole. As The Telegraph notes, the British intelligence document questions the U.K. Ministry of Defense’s current defense strategy, which does not call for Great Britain to plan for a new combat vehicle to replace its Challenger 2 main battle tank. “Are we on the cusp of a new technological arms race? Has an understandable focus on defeating the single threat of IEDs distracted Western military vehicle designers? Challenger 2 [the British tank], with life extension programmes, is currently due to remain in service until 2035. Is it time to rethink?” the report asks.

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WNU Editor: I agree .... it may be a great tank .... but the problem is the cost and the ability of Russian industry to manufacture this model in numbers that make sense. The claim that it will be years (a decade or two) before there are enough of them in the field to make a difference is .... from the Russian perspective .... sadly true.

British Intelligence Issues Warning Over Russia's New Tank

The Telegraph: UK military intelligence issues warning over Russian supertank threat

British military intelligence has issued a warning over a ground-breaking tank being developed by Russia, according to a leaked document seen by The Telegraph.

The Ministry of Defence internal briefing paper raises doubts over the UK’s ability to combat the threat posed by the Kremlin’s new Armata tank.

It also questions why the Government has no plans for a rival tank for at least 20 years.

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More News On British Military Intelligence Issuing A Warning Over Russia's New Tank

Putin's new 'super tank': British intelligence warns Russian vehicle is 'the most revolutionary change in tank design in the last half century' and leaves the West totally outgunned -- Daily Mail
Russian military's Armata tank is the 'most revolutionary in a generation' says leaked report -- International Business Times
Leaked Ministry of Defence memo warns of dangers over Russia's new supertank -- The Independent
Russia’s revolutionary tank leaves West outgunned, warn experts -- The Times
UK military threatened & amazed by Russia’s ‘revolutionary’ Armata tank – leak -- RT

First Production Models Of Russia's T-14 Armata Main Battle Tank Will be Starting In 2017.

Dave Majumdar, National Interest: Russia's Dangerous T-14 Armata Tank: Ready for War Next Year?

The Russian Ground Forces are set to take delivery of the first production models of the T-14 Armata main battle tank starting in 2017.

The Russian army has taken delivery of twenty pre-production version of the tank for operational testing—which is currently under way just outside Moscow at Kubinka. The first operational T-14 unit is likely to be stood up in Siberia with a unit that performed particularly well during the invasion of Crimea according to a source.

“Test of the Armata are going according to schedule without any problems,” Alexei Zharich, deputy director of Uralvagonzavod told the Russian language daily Izvestia. “Serial deliveries could begin at any moment—as soon as the customer wants it.”

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WNU Editor: Many see this tank becoming the new standard for all tanks.

Update: Russia dominates the world's market for tanks .... Russia Produces 70% of World Tanks, Ready to Churn Out Armata in 2016 (Sputnik).

Russia's Advanced Armata T-14 Tank 'Already in Serial Production'

Sputnik: Tanks A Lot: Russia's Advanced Armata T-14 'Already in Serial Production'

Russia's state-of-the-art T-14 tank, part of the Armata family of armored combat vehicles, is already being mass produced, according to the US magazine The National Interest.

Dave Majumdar, Defense Editor of the US magazine The National Interest, quoted a top Russian defense industry executive as saying that Russia's Armata family of combat vehicles, including the advanced T-14 tank, is already in serial production.

According to Majumdar, the news will certainly come as a surprise for many Western analysts who "believed that the Armata family was still in its developmental stages" after its new models took part in the 2015 Victory Day parade in Moscow.

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Update #1: Surprise: Russia's Lethal T-14 Armata Tank Is in Production -- National Interest
Update #2: Russia claims its deadly T-14 Armata tank is in full production -- Business Insider

WNU Editor: If you look at the above video (at the one minute mark), you will see what this tank can do to the pavement. Being someone who has lived in Moscow .... and who has a home there .... one of my big peeves about these military parades is that they always make a mess of the road. And now there is a new tank to show-off .... grrrr ....

Many Eyewitnesses In This Russian City Taught They Were Looking At A Nuclear Mushroom Cloud

TERRIFYING: The massive mushroom cloud left many witnesses fearing a nuclear attack [CEN]

Daily Star: Armageddon strikes: Massive cloud sparks Russian nuclear attack panic

WITNESSES thought World War 3 had kicked off when a giant 'nuclear' cloud was spotted looming over an entire city.

The huge shape floating above homes and businesses sparked widespread panic as people took to social media to find out if the end of the world was coming.

Many in the city of Tyumen in south central Russia believed it was the beginning of a nuclear war.

Photos of the ominous mushroom cloud quickly went viral in Russia.

Alexander Bogdanov posted a photo on Instagram saying: "World War III has begun.

"I photographed it from my window."

WNU Editor: It does look like a mushroom cloud after a nuclear explosion. If you want to compare .... the nuclear explosion that destroyed the Japanese city of Nagasaki during the Second World War looked like this at ground level (the pic is here).

Russia Is Planning To Sell It's Newest Tank To Foreign Buyers

© Sputnik/ Mikhail Voskresensky

Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg: Russian Tanks Roll Into a Marketing War

Russia's new supertank, the T-14 Armata, is getting its first taste of battle -- against two virtual rivals on the global market: China's VT-4 and Ukraine's BM Oplot.

Russia has more than 15,000 tanks, more than any other nation, but the vast majority of these are ancient T-72s and T-80s. These tanks have apparently been supplied to the rebels in eastern Ukraine, not least because Russia doesn't have much use for them. Among other problems, they are death traps: A direct hit on the manned turret often causes the shells within to explode, killing the crew. That's why the Soviet army, famously unconcerned with personnel losses, needed so many of them.

WNU Editor: The Chinese are already starting to "trash-talk" this new Russian tank .... China Battle Tank Maker Trash Talks Russian Rival Online (Bloomberg).

A More Detailed Look At Russia's Newest Tank

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Business Insider: The hardware that sets Russia's new tank apart from all others

Early last month Russia's new third-generation T-14 Armata tank was revealed to the world during Moscow's annual Victory Day parade.

According to the Associated Press, military weapons experts from Russia and some from the West say Russia's new main battle tank will surpass all Western tanks.

"The tank is the first to have an internal armored capsule housing its three-man crew and a remotely controlled turret with an automatic weapons-loading system, features that allow for increasing both the level of crew protection and the efficiency of the tank's weapons." the AP reports.

More News On Russia's Armata Tank

Armata Tank Armor ‘Impenetrable’ - Expert -- Sputnik
Russia starts batch production of ceramic plates for new generation Armata tank -- ITAR-TASS
Russia's Armata T-14 Tank To Feature Ceramic Armor Plates, Report Says -- IBTimes
Russia's Armata Tank For Sale? China, India Want New War Vehicle After Victory Day Unveiling, Report Says -- IBTimes
China, India Interested in Purchasing Russia’s Armata - Putin's Aide -- Sputnik
Unlimited upgrades & value mean Russian T-14 Armata tank is export gem – developer -- RT
Russia's New Armata Tank Can Be Upgraded to Robot - Official -- Sputnik
Putin’s New 'Wunderwaffe': The World’s Deadliest Tank? -- Franz-Stefan Gady, The Diplomat

Russia's New Tank Is Puting A Hole In Its Defense Budget

© Sputnik/ Mikhail Voskresensky

Franz-Stefan Gady, The Diplomat: Is the 'World’s Deadliest Tank' Bankrupting Russia?

Moscow is overspending on its armed forces and still might not get the military it wants by 2020.

Russia is expected to spend more money on its military in 2015 than in any previous year in its entire post-Soviet history.

According to an analysis conducted by Forbes Magazine, Russia will spend an estimated 5.34 percent of its economic output on defense in 2015. This estimate is based on the assumption that the Russian economy will contract by 3 percent and a 15 percent hike in the real value of the military budget.

However, another estimate quoted in the Wall Street Journal based on Russian government data notes that country’s GDP may even decrease by 4.6 percent largely due to lower oil prices and Western sanctions. Consequently, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev recently announced that this year’s 3.3 trillion rubles military budget will need to be adjusted and cut by five percent or 157 billion rubles.

WNU Editor: Russia's new Armata tank may be putting a hole in their defense budget .... but Russian officials are proud of it anyway .... Russia’s New Armata Tank Hard to Rival - Russian Deputy Prime Minister (Sputnik). More here .... Western Tanks Are 15-20 Years Behind Armata: Russian Dy PM Rogozin (Defense World)

Is Russia's New Armata Tank The Best In The World?

A Russian serviceman holds a red flag onboard a T-14 Armata tank after it stopped during a rehearsal for the Victory Day parade in Red Square in central Moscow, May 7. Grigory Dukor / Reuters

Matthew Bodner, Moscow Times: Could Russia's New Armata Tank Be the Best in the World?

Rolling through Red Square to the tune of patriotic war hymns, Russia's new battle tank, the Armata T-14, will surely steal the show on Saturday during Moscow's blowout celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

But despite the pomp and circumstance of its unveiling, experts said that the massive new tank, hailed by Russia's media as one of the best combat vehicles in the world, is hardly a revolution in warfare.

The Armata may be more effective and safer than Russia's Soviet-era tanks, but in its current version it is hardly a vast leap ahead in tank design, according to Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Moscow-based Center for the Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, a defense think tank.

"The Armata is certainly not a game changer," said Ben Moores, a senior analyst at international defense consultancy IHS. Rather, the new tank is "just a more modern and effective vehicle than previous Russian tanks," he said in e-mailed comments.

WNU Editor: The Armata tank's specifications are here .... Russian third generation Armata Tank Specifications (NEXT Big Future)

More News On Russia's Armata Tank

Why America Should Really Fear Russia's Armata T-14 Tank -- Nikolas K. Gvosdev, National Interest
Russia Unveils Its Groundbreaking New Tank -- Stratfor
Russia Armata T-14 Tank Said to Be Faster Than a US Abrams -- Newsmax
Revealed: Russia’s Deadly New Tank Force -- The Diplomat
Armata Tank Leaves Western Readers Awe-Struck, Causes Heated Discussion -- Sputnik
Putin’s Got a Cool New Tank: How Many Can He Afford? -- Rob Garver,The Fiscal Times
Russia beat Hitler with tanks. Now it’s showing off the tank of the future. -- Washington Post

Russia Showcases Its New Armata Tank (And Other Hardware)

Armata main battle tank, courtesy Russian Defense Ministry

RT: Armata unveiled: First ever full high-def photos of Russia's newest hardware

The Russian Defense Ministry has for the first time fully revealed the new Armata tank in a series of photographs published on its website in the run-up to the Victory Day parade in Moscow.

All the previous images obtained by the media showed T-14 Armata with its turret draped in protective canvas. Now, the Defense Ministry has published images of the tank, as well as several other new armored vehicles, in high definition, accompanied with brief descriptions, for anyone to view and download.

More News On Russia Showcasing Its New Armata Tank

Armata, Kurganets & Co: Sneak Peak at Russia's Brand New Military Equipment -- Sputnik
Russia's new Armata tank makes debut in parade rehearsal -- AP
Putin unveils first new Russian tank since 1993 with most powerful gun ever as well as huge arsenal of most sophisticated military hardware -- Daily Mail
Russia unveils new Armata tank for WW2 victory parade -- BBC
Russia’s Latest Armata T-14 Tank Unveiled Ahead Of World War II Victory Parade -- IBTimes

A Look At Russia's Newest Tank

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Business Insider: These are the plans for Russia's new third-generation tank

Russia is just about to unveil its latest armored platform, the T-14 tank.

The tank, called the Armata, has largely been kept under wraps although technical details about the platform have steadily been emerging. The Armata is planned to feature considerable upgrades to the armor, engine, and armaments of the vehicle over previous Russian and Soviet tank models.

Until the tank is actually seen in action, any claims as to the Armata's capabilities could be nothing more than propaganda, an overstatement reminiscent of Russia's improbable claims that it's working on a supersonic transport jet.

More News On Russia's Newest Tank

The T-14 Is a New Russian Tank —And a Whole Lot More -- Paul Huard, War Is Boring
Russia's newest armored vehicle swims and picks its own shots -- Endgadget
Russia: Top secret T-14 Armata tank revealed on film -- IBTimes
Russia's Unseen New Armata Battle Tank Captured on Camera -- Moscow Times
Innovations from Three Russian Prototype Tanks and T95 were merged into the Armata Tank Design -- Next Big Future