MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/. A pilot batch of tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and repair and evacuation equipment based on the Armata combat platform will be delivered to the Russian troops in 2022, Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu said at the ministry’s conference call on Thursday.
"In 2022, there are plans to deliver a pilot batch of T-14 tanks, T-15 infantry fighting vehicles and T-16 armored repair and evacuation hardware to the troops," Shoigu said.
Combat vehicle prototypes based on the Armata platform are currently undergoing state trials. These combat vehicles hold leading positions in the corresponding rankings, the defense chief stressed.
CEO and Chief Designer of the Urals Design Bureau of Transport Engineering Andrei Terlikov told reporters at the IDEX 2021 international arms show in the United Arab Emirates in February that the serial deliveries of T-14 Armata main battle tanks to the Russian troops would begin in 2022.
The T-14 Armata tank was unveiled abroad at the IDEX 2021 arms show in Abu Dhabi. The T-14 tank based on the Armata platform and developed by Uralvagonzavod defense manufacturer was demonstrated for the first time at the Victory Parade on Moscow’s Red Square on May 9, 2015. The tank underwent preliminary trials in 2019.
The Armata is a heavy tracked standardized platform serving as the basis to develop a main battle tank, an infantry fighting vehicle, an armored personnel carrier and some other armored vehicles.
The T-14 tank based on the Armata combat platform differs fundamentally from its predecessors. It features fully digitized equipment, an unmanned turret and an isolated armored capsule for the crew.