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| Russia is Reluctant to Deploy its Most Advanced Tanks to Ukraine |
Moscow - Russia is known as a country with strong tanks. Being a superpower, of course, needs to show off in terms of defense. Therefore, Russia is one of the few countries that continues to develop its tanks. Namely bringing tank technology to a modern level.
The tank, named the T-14 Armata, is Russia's newest generation MBT or main battle tank. The T-14 tank itself was developed by the manufacturer Uralvagonzavod. Additional information, Uralvagonzavod is the largest tank manufacturer in the world. This tank factory has even existed since the Stalin regime.
Quoted from 19fortyfive, the T-14 Armata was first unveiled in May 2015. It coincided with the Russian Victory Day Parade. And just like one of the most modern tanks today, the Armata brings a lot of advanced features in it. Such as fully digital technology, automatic cannons, and special armor.
What makes it different from other Russian tanks is the shape of the T-14 Armata. If you look closely, the overall shape is even more like a Western-made tank. The T-14 Armata is 10.8 m long, 3.5 m wide and reaches 3.3 m high. The weight of this main battle tank is 48 tons, quoted from Army Technology.
As mentioned above, the armor on this tank is made of special materials. Namely up to three layers, steel, ceramic and composite materials. This combination helps the T-14 Armata to withstand attacks from anti-tank weapons. Even the latest generation of Russian tanks is capable of dealing with nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) attacks.
And among the most innovative features, the T-14 Armata's main gun is the most worthy of attention. Because the smoothbore cannon 2A82-1M measuring 125mm this can be controlled remotely. "Remotely controlled, and auto-loads ammunition," the National Interest wrote. And unmitigated, this cannon can accommodate up to 45 rounds of ammunition.
Even the National Interest mentioned, the T-14 Armata tank will likely use a larger gun. “In the future, the Armata could be equipped with a 2A83 152mm cannon”, he continued.
Questions also arise regarding Russia's most advanced tank. Why didn't Russia deploy the T-14 Armata on the Ukrainian battlefield?
As is well known, the war there broke out since last February. Making the biggest war, at least post-Middle East. And since that February, this kind of T-14 Armata tank has not shown its nose, why?
One of the most compelling reasons is that Russia does not yet have a sufficient fleet. Quoted from Defense Security Asia, it is global economic sanctions that underlie this problem. Manufacturer Uralvagonzavod made it difficult to produce this T-14 Armata tank.
In fact, they are supposed to send about 80 of those tanks to the Russian Army by the end of this year. As mentioned above, the design of the T-14 Armata is more like a Western tank. Even the materials and technology in it were allegedly also from Western companies. And global economic sanctions are breaking the supply chain for this T-14 Armata tank.