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On April 15, Russian media reported that the Russian new Armata T-14 main battle tank was deployed on the Ukrainian front lines. It was not revealed how many tanks will be sent to the front.
According to anonymous sources of Russian media, Armata T-14 is used for strikes on Ukrainian positions but it has not yet participated in the assault operations. It was clarified that the tanks were equipped with additional protection from anti-tank ammunition.
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The T-14 main battle tank is designed to conduct combat in direct contact with the enemy, to support the offensive of motorized rifle subunits, to destroy enemy manpower located in shelters and in open areas. According to the concept of “net-centric warfare”, the T-14 is used primarily as a reconnaissance vehicle, used for targeting and fire correction of self-propelled guns, SAMs and T-90 tanks as part of the tactical link.
The T-14 is a next-generation main battle tank based on the Armata Universal Combat Platform. It features fully digitized equipment, an unmanned turret equipped with the new 2A82-1M 125mm smoothbore cannon and an isolated armored capsule for the crew. The Russian tank crew is set in a separate capsule, protected by a modern, multilayer counter-heat protection-effect armor.
The T-14 Armata is based on a modular combat platform, which can also serve as a basis for other armored vehicles such as heavy infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers. LINK
Work on the new Armata tank began in 2010 on a basis of the T-95 project. Armata was first seen in public (initially with its turret and cannon shrouded) during rehearsals for the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade. The T-14 battle tank has already been tested tested in “field conditions” in Syria and “all the nuances” were taken into account. LINK It was reported that in 2021 Uralvagonzavod was going to supply 20 T-14 tanks to the Russian troops.
The first reports on the deployment of Armata in Ukraine came in spring 2022. Videos showing the T-14 on a training ground were published online in December 2022. The Russian crews reportedly underwent combat coordination at one of the frontline training grounds.
So far, the Russian Defense Ministry has not officially confirmed the deployment of Armata on the front lines. The Russian military is unlikely to use the new main battle tank in the battles in order to prevent Kiev and NATO from getting access to the advanced technologies.
Direct clashes between Russian Armata and T-90 Breakthrough and German-made Leopard and US-made Abram tanks are unlikely to take place in the near future.
T-14 VS Abrams
Both tanks are capable of destroying each other. Armata is less armored than the American tank. Russian engineers attempted not to weight the tank with heavy armor. The armor penetration of the 125 mm cannon of T-14 has been improved so that it poses a threat even to the frontal armor of the Abrams at short and medium distances.
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T-14 VS Leopard
According to Russian manufacturers, the 125 mm gun 2A82 of T-14 is 17% more powerful than the 120 mm tank gun made by Rheinmetall for Leopards. The penetration power of the Russian tank is estimated at one thousand millimeters RHA, provided that the “Armata” bullet hits the armor at an angle of 90 degrees from a distance of 2 thousand meters. While the same figure for the Leopard 2 is 750 millimeters. The armor’s durability is also estimated: 900 to 1000 millimeters RHA for the Armata and 680 to 700 for the Leopard. In addition, the German main battle tank is less maneuverable because of its weight.
