Armata Universal Combat Platform

The "Armata" Universal Combat Platform (Russian: Армата)[8][9] is a Russian advanced next generation modular heavy military tracked vehicle platform. The Armata platform is the basis of the T-14 (a main battle tank), the T-15 (a heavy infantry fighting vehicle), a combat engineering vehicle, an armoured recovery vehicle, a heavy armoured personnel carrier, a tank support combat vehicle, and several types of self-propelled artillery, including the 2S35 Koalitsiya-SV under the same codename based on the same chassis. It is also intended to serve as the basis for artillery, air defense, and NBC defense systems.[10] The new "Armata" tank platform is meant to replace the older Russian main battle tanks and APCs that are currently used by the Russian military.[11][12]

Armata
TypeTracked heavy armored vehicle
Place of originRussia
Service history
Used byRussian Armed Forces
Production history
DesignerUral Design Bureau of Transport Machine-Building, Uralvagonzavod
ManufacturerUralvagonzavod
Unit cost$3,700,000 (T-14)[1]
Produced2015
No. built20+
Specifications
Mass48 tons in an MBT configuration
Crew3[citation needed]

Armor
(the stealth and list is not exhaustive)
Main
armament
Secondary
armament
T-14: 12.7 mm and 7.62 mm machine guns
EngineChTZ 12N360 (A-85-3A) diesel engine[7]
1,500 hp (1,100 kW), moderated to 1,200 hp (890 kW) in normal operation
Transmission16-gear automatic transmission (estimate, including reverse gears)
Maximum speed
  • 80 km/h (50 mph) (forwards, estimate)
  • 80 km/h (50 mph) (reverse, estimate)

Origin of designation edit

The combat platform is formally designated as "prospective family of heavy unified battlefield platforms". The name "Armata" derives from the plural of the Latin word arma which refers to weapons of war, and was an old Russian word for 14th century guns;[citation needed] it is also the plural of the ancient Greek word "Arma", meaning "chariot" or in modern Greek, "tank". This was wrongly transcribed as "Armada" by journalists on several occasions.[13][14]

Development edit

The Armata combat platform has been under design and development since 2009 by Uralvagonzavod headquartered in Nizhny Tagil.[13] Prototypes of heavy armored vehicles based on the Armata combat platform were presented at the defense exhibition Russian Arms Expo in Nizhny Tagil in September 2013.[15] In November 2014 trials of the 2S35 Koalitsiya-SV self-propelled gun variant were under way.[6]

The first vehicles were shown to the public in the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade, with a batch of 32 to be delivered to the Russian Land Forces during the same year.[16] Russian media has previously stated that mass delivery will start in 2015[15] or 2016.[17]

A total of 2,300 MBTs were expected to be supplied by 2020,[15][18] modernizing 70 percent of the Russian tank fleet.[15][19] The Uralvagonzavod plant was expected to roll out around 500 T-14 Armata tanks per year.[20] In 2017, the order was scaled back to a test batch of 100 tanks by 2020, with the program extended to 2025.[21][22]

At a 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade practice drill run on the Alabino training grounds several types of armored vehicles described as various Armata models appeared with their turrets covered.[23] Russian Defence Ministry signed a long-term contract for delivery of tanks and heavy IFVs on the Armata basis.[24]

Serial production of the Armata Platform's ceramic armor components began in mid-2015.[25]

In December 2019, Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Alexei Krivoruchko reported delays with the development and production, with the first batch of five vehicles available for state-conducted testing expected "in the next month or two".[26]

Design edit

Russian Lieutenant-General Yuri Kovalenko states that the "Armata" combat platform will utilize many features of the T-95 tank, of which only a few prototypes have been built. In the main battle tank variant, the ammunition compartment will be separate from the crew, increasing operational safety while the engine will be more powerful and the armor, main gun and autoloader will be improved.

According to preliminary reports, the new tank designated T-14 Armata will be less radical and ambitious than the canceled ‘Object 195’ or T-95. It will weigh less, therefore being more agile and more affordable when compared to its more ambitious predecessors. Additionally, the T-15 Armata, Kurganets-25 IFV and Bumerang IFV will be able to equip the same 30mm Bumerang-BM.[5]

The vehicles of the Armata platform will be equipped with the radar and other technologies found on the Sukhoi Su-57 fifth-generation jet fighter. They include a Ka band radar (26.5–40 GHz) based on AESA radar. The devices should be ready by 2015.[27]

The Armata will use a new type of lightweight armor designated 44S-SV-SH, developed by the Scientific Research Institute of Steel. This armor does not lose its qualities when used in extremely low temperatures, which may indicate an interest in using the tank in Arctic conditions.[28]

The Armata tank will have a remote weapon station turret and an automated control system, with the crew protected by an armored capsule. It will have an externally mounted 125 mm gun with 32 rounds of ammunition; in addition to tank rounds, a new laser-guided missile able to be fired from the main gun with a tandem Kornet-D (or better) anti-tank or anti low flying helicopters warhead with a range of 7,000–12,000 m (23,000–39,000 ft). The secondary armament will consist of a 12.7mm 6P49 machine gun and a 7.62mm PKT machine gun.

Variants edit

Projects[33]

Operators edit

  •   Russia: 16 to 20 T-14 tank prototypes were built and used for evaluation and testing before 2018.[35] The first 12 production tanks and 4 armoured recovery vehicles were to be delivered by the end of 2019 and then enter operational evaluation.[36] In 2021, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the first pilot batch of T-14, T-15 and T-16 vehicles would instead be delivered in 2022.[37]

See also edit

References edit

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  2. ^ "Russia Created New Steel Armor for Armored Vehicles". Siberian Insider. 3 July 2014. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  3. ^ "Танк Т-14 'Армата' или Т-99 'Приоритет'". ВПК.name. Archived from the original on 2015-05-17. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
  4. ^ "T-15 (Object 149) heavy infantry combat vehicle". Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
  5. ^ a b c "New Russian heavy armour breaks cover". IHS Jane's 360. April 22, 2015. Archived from the original on April 21, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c Foss, Christopher F. (17 November 2014). "Russia's new Koalitsiya self-propelled gun being trialled". Jane's Information Group. Archived from the original on 2015-07-27. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
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  8. ^ "Russia Claims Its Next-Generation Main Battle Tank Has 3 Times the Range of the Abrams". 22 June 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-04-08. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
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  11. ^ Grove, Thomas. "Russian Defense Industry Hits Speed Bumps". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2015-11-27. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  12. ^ "Russia's Armata Tank And The Next Wave Of High-Tech Ground Warfare". International Business Times. 12 June 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  13. ^ a b "Russian Armata Tank to Enter Testing in November". RIA Novosti. 7 September 2013. Archived from the original on 31 July 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  14. ^ "Каким может быть новый танк 'Армата'". Army-news.ru (in Russian). 2011-06-22. Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  15. ^ a b c d "Russia to reveal newest Armata tanks in 2015". Xinhua News Agency. 11 November 2014. Archived from the original on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
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  20. ^ Russian Army Expects to Receive 500 T-14 Armata Tank per Year Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine - Armyrecognition.com, 1 April 2015
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  22. ^ "Минобороны заключило первый контракт на поставку свыше 100 танков "Армата"". РИА Новости (in Russian). 2016-09-06. Archived from the original on 2018-03-06. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  23. ^ Парад 9 Мая 2015 (репетиция): Армата , Тайфун-У, Курганец-25, БТР-МД , Коалиция-СВ, Бумеранг. on YouTube
  24. ^ "ЦАМТО / Новости / Минобороны и УВЗ заключили контракт на поставку танков и БМП на платформе «Армата". Archived from the original on 2016-08-09. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
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External links edit