.jpg) |
| Russian T-14 Armata main battle tank (MBT) |
By Franz-Stefan Gady
Putin’s new armored corps delineates a clear break with Soviet-era legacy weapon systems.
The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has for the first time officially revealed the Russian Ground Forces’ most advanced armored fighting vehicles, including a brand new main-battle tank, self-propelled artillery, and new armored personnel carrier, ahead of the May 9 Moscow Victory Day Parade (see: “‘Arma Virumque Cano’ – Parades and Militarism in Asia”).
It is important to not that the recently published photos on the Russian MoD’s website revealed prospective military hardware not yet commissioned into the Russian Armed Forces. Additionally, the vehicles displayed on the images have all their their weapon systems covered, which makes the initial analysis of the equipment highly speculative.
“During the May 9 parade in Blagoveshchensk we will be showcasing for the first time the latest types of arms and military hardware the Eastern Military District received last year and this, including a BTR-80 tactical unit control complex, a BTR-82 amphibious armored vehicle, Patriot armored cars, and modernized Ural heavy trucks,” EMD media spokesman Alexander Gordeyev told Sputnik News.
From a military technology perspective, the new armored fleet delineates in many ways a break with old Soviet-era military hardware. “The new vehicles are principally clean-slate designs and represent the biggest change in Russia’s armored fighting vehicle families since the 1960s and 1970s,” IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly reports.
Read the full story at The Diplomat