russia's t14 armada tanked not ready for potential conflict in ukraine
russia's next generation t14 are modded tank has been called a paper tiger since
it has endured delay after delay since its unveiling at a military parade in 2015.
often promised that it is going to the troops soon it does not appear the tank is ready for
combat against ukraine in an invasion conducted by russia if the military incursion happens
however if russia keeps a permanent supply of troops and military hardware arrayed around
ukraine which appears increasingly likely the new tank could make an appearance at the front around
2023 but there has been a long litany of promises made and promises broken about the t14
the claims have been dizzy russian tank manufacturer ural vaganzava first said the t-14
would be delivered in 2018. then the distribution of the first nine tanks would come in 2019
after this date came and went the leadership said 20 would be tested and 80 would be ready by the
end of 2021 then the claim was changed to 20 being introduced an additional optimistic statement said
that armada would enter serial production in 2022 now we find out that much more testing will be
required and the tank won't be ready until after 2023 are you confused yet russia's new t14 armada
could be quite the beast if it ever gets to a battlefield like american and western tanks it
has a lower silhouette to make it a more difficult target to hit one interesting design aspect about
the t14 is that the three-person crew sits in another armored compartment in the front of
the tank away from the 125mm smoothbore gun and ammunition storage they depend on an autoloader
the crew compartment is comprised of multi-layer armor for better crew survivability
this reportedly can defend against a hit of nearly any type of round from tank fire the
forward section of the armada is protected with an active defense system that is made to block
anti-tank munitions from guided missiles rockets and rocket-propelled grenades the t-14s mantia
masking system features a radar absorbent coating that the manufacturer claims will hide the tank
from detection the armada has improved sensors new communications equipment and it includes an active
electronically scanned array radar the wide angle cameras give 360 degree all-round imagery for the
crew with the commander's side on the turret also providing a full field of view the gunners have a
periscope and laser designator the cameras deliver heat sensing and infrared targeting
this system is good in all weather conditions and in night and low visibility environments
the t14 armada weighs 48 tons and can scoot at 55 miles per hour on roads
if that speed is true it would be faster than a t90 and an m1 a1 abrams with a 1 500 horsepower
engine it has a range of at least 311 miles the t14 armada is not just a tank it is meant to be
an all-around platform for a new armored personnel carrier and other types of combat vehicles since
the program has been so delayed it doesn't look like those vehicles will be ready anytime soon
twenty t-14 armadas even if they were ready today would not make a huge difference on
the battlefield in ukraine if the invasion actually takes place this program is still
in its test and experimental phase the new tanks are believed to cost dollar four million a piece
that doesn't sound like much but the russians want to produce them in the thousands
so you can see how that dollar four million would be multiplied to create an overall price tag
that could force the russians to recalculate just how many they will build russia's defense
acquisition system for tanks has to be seen as overrated they over promise and under deliver
it seems that military leadership has gone down the rabbit hole of the soviet era when the armed
forces were under outsized military industrial production quotas manufacturers simply lied
about dates and capabilities to make their chain of command believe everything was going to plan
with putin distracted by the decision on whether or not to attack ukraine the tank maker eurobag
zapbot can take its time and send out optimistic signals to a military that has more on its mind
than a future tank however if the new normal is a permanent deployment of russian troops
and material along the ukrainian border the t14 armada has plenty of time to be made in numbers