The Russian Armata T-14 tank is on sale in other countries. But will he buy it?
Moscow is “promoting the new T-14 ” Armata” tank,” he told TASS news agency Dmitry Shougayev, head of the Federal Military and Technical Cooperation Service.
“Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov said in April that Russia planned to start operating with foreign consumers of the Armata tank in 2021 and had already won several previous applications,” TASS said.
Since it was first unveiled in 2015, Russia has touted the virtues of the T-14, a next-generation tank with advanced capabilities. It features an active protection system to shoot down anti-tank rockets, sophisticated sensors and data networking, a strong degree of automation, and most notably a 125-mm cannon housed in an unmanned turret while the crew remains safely nestled inside the thickly armored hull. Indeed, the Armata is supposed to be a family of vehicles sharing a common chassis, including an infantry fighting vehicle and a tank destroyer.
Some Western experts are concerned that Armata will surpass the Cold War models that make up NATO tank fleets, such as the American M-1 Abrams, the German Leopard 2 and the British Challenger 2. As those countries paint in their own next-generation tanks – Add unmanned cars – it will be years before they go into service.
Although Russia probably wouldn’t appreciate the comparison, it’s fair to say that the Armata departs from the classic designs of Russian tanks of World War II/ Cold War, such as the T-34, T-55 and T-72, which emphasized the mass production of undeniable – and consumables – tanks. In contrast, the T-14 is closer to the Western concept of a smaller number of beloved, high-tech armored vehicles.
It is therefore not surprising that Russia likes to export the T-14. Modern weapons are so expensive that the army’s complex powers monitor overseas sales at canopy progression costs. Imagine what would happen to the US F-35 F-35 stealth combat program of $1 trillion without Britain, Japan, Israel and a dozen other countries providing to spend their taxes to buy Lightning II charges.
But what reassures foreign consumers about the F-35 is that the U.S. military itself. He’s considering buying 2456. This illustrates the first challenge of Exporting Armata: Russia does not buy the tank, or at least not many of them. The Russian army has been reluctant to acquire a giant number of T-14s, which are estimated to charge $4 million each. Initial plans to acquire 2300 Armatas through 2025 were diluted to just 132 in the latest Russian defense budget. The T-14 has also been plagued by start-up challenges and questionable design decisions, according to a Russian defense expert. Instead of buying their beloved Armatas, the Russian army prefers to prefer the technique used through Western armies in their Cold War tanks: the Russian fleet of T-72, T-80 and T-90 tanks.
And which nations would probably be maximum maximums to buy Armata? India and China have been cited as prospects, as well as Egypt and Algeria, who recently purchased the “Terminator” BMPT-72 from Russia, a new chimney vehicle founded on a T-72 chassis.
“Overall, Russia sold arms to consumers in the Middle East after they joined the structures of the Russian army,” Samuel Bendett, a Russian army trained for the U.S.-based Think Tank Analysis Center, told me. “Then, if there is an interest, the sale will most likely take position after Russian forces have had the opportunity to use the tank first.”
This in turn poses another impediment to The Armata’s export: which nations are capable of exploiting it? Russian devices like the Kalashnikov rifle are reputed to be undeniable to use: a new generation tank like the Armata will be quite the opposite.
“Given Armata’s sophistication and assuming the sale takes place, the number of Middle Eastern consumers able to manage it is very small,” Bendett says. “I would like to designate the United Arab Emirates and Egypt as two potential consumers who have reveled in complicated US, European and Russian teams. Algeria may also be a potential destination, as it has already complicated the Russian army team, as the Terminator recently delivered anti-tank vehicle. Finally, India is a key destination for the Russian high-tech Russian army, such as the T-90 tank ».
As for China, which buys the T-14, Chinese gun manufacturer Norinco says its VT-4 is amazing for Armata. If it’s true, it’s debatable. But as Russian aircraft brands may attest, the export of Armata to China jeopardizes the emergence of Chinese-made cars that look no differently like Armata’s.
However, Cold War-era tanks in the world are aging. At some point, they will be updated. It remains to be noted that the T-14 Armata will update it.