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**Russian Next-Gen T-14 Tank Makes Ukraine Debut**

Russian Next-Gen T-14 Tank Makes Ukraine Debut

While Western nations are working to upgrade Ukraine's ground game with US M-1 Abrams and German Leopard 2 tanks, **Russia has now introduced its latest-generation tank into the war in Ukraine**, according to Russia's state-owned _RIA_ (https://radiosputnik.ria.ru/20230425/tank-1867488222.html).

The new Russian tank is the **T-14 Armata**, which features **an unmanned turret**, with a three-man crew operating the vehicle from what _RIA_ describes as an "isolated armored capsule located at the front of the hull." The tank has a maximum highway speed of 50 miles per hour.

?itok=v9jPozRY (?itok=v9jPozRY)**A T-14 Armata on Tverskaya Street in Moscow before a Victory Day parade**(TASS vis (?itok=v9jPozRY)_Daily Mail_ (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12010121/Russias-new-T-14-Armata-battle-tank-debuts-Ukraine-RIA.html))

It's equipped with a **125mm smoothbore main gun** with a reported range of 8 kilometers. The gun is fed by an automated loader with a 45-round capacity, and can also fire laser-guided missiles (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12010121/Russias-new-T-14-Armata-battle-tank-debuts-Ukraine-RIA.html).

On defense, it has both **reactive armor** that explodes outward upon a projectile's impact, and an **"active protection system" (APS)**, which _BBC_ (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40083641) has described as "essentially an anti-missile system for tanks, with radars capable of tracking the incoming anti-tank missile, and projectiles that are launched to disrupt or destroy it." The T-14 is additionally distinguished (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12010121/Russias-new-T-14-Armata-battle-tank-debuts-Ukraine-RIA.html) from predecessor T-90 tanks by having higher ground clearance.

A developer also claimed (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12010121/Russias-new-T-14-Armata-battle-tank-debuts-Ukraine-RIA.html) the tank would have technology to hide it from radar- and heat-seeking targeting systems: **"We essentially made the tank invisible."** _RIA_ reports the deployed T-14s have received "additional side protection from anti-tank ammunition."

Until now, **T-14 appearances have been largely limited to a series of Moscow Victory Day parades** stretching all the way back to 2015, though _RIA_ says they have been "tested in Syria."

?itok=-EPk2mf5 (?itok=-EPk2mf5)**T-14 Armata tanks traverse Moscow's Red Square at the 2020 Victory Day parade** (Host Photo/Evgeny Biyatov via (?itok=-EPk2mf5)_Reuters_ (https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-new-t-14-armata-battle-tank-debuts-ukraine-ria-2023-04-25/))

**Why has it taken so long for this supposed cutting-edge weapon to appear in Ukraine?** Especially where military procurement is concerned, it turns out the Russians aren't so different from the United States.

"Eleven years in development, **the \[T-14 Armata\] programme has been dogged with delays, reduction in planned fleet size, and reports of manufacturing problems,**" the British military said (https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-new-t-14-armata-battle-tank-debuts-ukraine-ria-2023-04-25/) in January.

> Tank T-14 platform "Armata" pic.twitter.com/91TPWP2Rth (https://t.co/91TPWP2Rth)

> — Spriter (@Spriter99880) April 25, 2023 (https://twitter.com/Spriter99880/status/1650833702371356672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

The initial order called for 2,300 of them to be delivered by 2020. However,the UK claims **"production is probably only in the low tens, while commanders are unlikely to trust the vehicle** in combat," and suggested its introduction in Ukraine may largely be for propaganda purposes. Of course, that jab may itself be propaganda.

Lending some credence to the claim of commander hesitancy, _RIA_'s source says Russia is proceeding gradually with using the T-14 in Ukraine:"Russian troops have begun to use the latest Armata tanks to fire on Ukrainian positions. **They have not yet participated in direct assault operations."**

Meanwhile, **Ukrainians are slated to begin 10 weeks of training (https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-expediting-abrams-del…

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