NIZHNY TAGIL, June 20. /TASS/. Russian troops will start the operational evaluation of the most advanced Armata tank from 2019, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Tuesday.

The vice-premier spoke at a meeting on the implementation of the order book for defense manufacturer Uralvagonzavod.

"I hope that the Uralvagonzavod management will today confirm that the year 2019 is already the commencement of the Armata’s operational evaluation, i.e. the tank will go to military practice ranges rather than to factory testing grounds, which will be followed by serial production," the vice-premier said.

During their visit to the production premises, the participants in the meeting noted that the T-72 tank developed in the 1970s was still the main battle tank for the ground forces and would continue to be operational after its unique modernization, which Uralvagonzavod was carrying out.

In this context, the vice-premier presumed that the Armata tank would also demonstrate good performance during its operation in the Armed Forces.

"I hope that the Armata, this unique modular platform, will also have dozens of years of its service life," Rogozin said.

The Armata is a heavy tracked standardized combat platform, which serves as the basis for developing the main battle tank, an infantry fighting vehicle, an armored personnel carrier and some other armored vehicles. The T-17 tank based on the Armata platform was publicly shown for the first time at the Victory Day parade on Red Square on May 9, 2015. The new combat vehicle features fully digitized equipment, an unmanned turret and an isolated armored capsule for the crew.

Rogozin earlier said the Armata’s trials were proceeding on schedule and no complications in this regard were expected.