Russia’s T-14 Next Generation Heavy Tank Has Entered Mass Production - Reports

The Russian T-14 Armata next generation battle tank has reportedly entered mass production, according to a recent statement by the country’s Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov. The minister stated regarding progress on improving the design over the past five years: “Yes, the problems with both the engines and the thermal imagers have been resolved. The engine generates the parameters and the technical characteristics that were laid out in the performance specifications upon its designing.” He further highlighted progress developing a new thermal imaging system for the tank which he announced was complete, and said that trials for the tank in frontline units had proceeded according to schedule. The tank has been in serial production since at least 2016, although on a relatively small scale, and the platform is currently operated by multiple frontline units alongside a transport based on the same chassis - the T-15. Use of the same chassis is expected to reduce the difficulties of maintaining large armoured units, and also makes research and development easier as both are able to use many of the same technologies for features ranging from sensors to armour protection. 

The T-14 tank was first unveiled in 2015, and is the first entirely new tank design developed since the Soviet era. It was announced that it had entered its final stage of testing before mass production in February 2020, although it is unclear when this was completed. The tank is considerably larger and heavier than its predecessors - in particularly the T-72 and T-90 platforms which currently form the bulk of Russia’s frontline armoured units. While the Russian Army has familiarised itself with the T-14, Russia has invested in upgrading T-72 tanks to the T-72B3 standard, and in 2020 inducted the T-90M tank into service which integrates many of the same technologies as the T-14. Both tanks are considered to have a significant advantage over their current Western analogues, although ongoing work in Europe and in the U.S. in particular on next generation tank designs has made it necessary for Russia to develop more capable tanks of its own.

The T-14 is one of just three fourth generation battle tanks currently in service, the other two being the South Korean K2 Black Panther and the lightweight Japanese Type 10. The Russian tank was ranked in 2020 as the world’s second most capable battle tank, ahead of the T-90M which took third place but behind the Korean K2. The T-14 is thought to have more room to incorporate upgrades however, and is expected to supersede the K2 in the coming years with considerable investments being made in new technologies to enhance the design. One of the proposals to upgrade the tank which has gained the most attention both from analysts and in popular media is to equip the tank with a 152mm cannon - to replace the 125mm cannon the tank currently uses. The Soviet military was previously developing a 152mm cannon for its previous generation of heavy tanks, the T-80, although the state’s collapse in 1991 ended the program at prototype stage.