The Russian defense industry is reportedly delaying mass production of its next-generation Armata main battle tanks by around a year.
Russia’s Industry and Trade Minister, Denis Manturov said that mass production of the T-14 Armata tank will begin in 2022.
“The [tank’s] state trials will come to a close next year. It will actively go into mass production from next year,” the minister said.
At the same time, Head of the state hi-tech corporation Rostec Sergei Chemezov said in December 2020 that serial deliveries of the latest T-14 ‘Armata’ tank to the Russian troops will begin in 2021.
In addition, earlier in Aug 2020, Denis Mansurov himself assured that the mass production of tanks and fighting vehicles based on the latest Armata combat platform under a contract signed with Russia’s Defense Ministry several years ago is already underway.
“Yes, the work is underway,” the minister said, replying to a question about whether the production of these armored vehicles had begun in Russia.
The Armata is a heavy-tracked standardized platform serving as the basis to develop the T-14 main battle tank, the T-15 infantry fighting vehicle, an armored personnel carrier and some other armored vehicles. The new Russian tank has had a long and somewhat tortured development, first prototypes were shown to the public for the first time at Red Square’s Victory Day parade on May 9, 2015.
The Russian Army initially planned to acquire 2,300 T-14s between 2015 and 2020.