Russian Military Developing New Cannon for T-14 Armata Next Generation Battle Tank

One of the Russian military’s most prolific weapons programs, which alongside the T-15 heavy APC, Koalitsiya-SV mobile artillery piece and 9K720 Iskander tactical ballistic missile are intended to revolutionise the country’s ground warfare capabilities, the T-14 Armata battle tank has seen considerable investment in developing new technologies, from sensors to armour protection and munitions to ensure optimal capabilities by the time it enters mass production. The T-14 is currently in low level production and limited use by Russia’s ground forces, though it has yet to enter mass production. Most recently details have emerged from the Russian Defence Ministry indicating that a new main cannon is currently under development for the battle tank.

Russian T-14 Armata Battle Tanks

The Russian Armed Forces’ Missile-Technical and Artillery-Technical Support bulletin stated regarding the development of a new cannon for the Armata: "The armament of domestically-produced tanks is based on a 125-mm smoothbore gun. Over the past 40 years, this piece of hardware has undergone a number of changes as part of modernization aimed at boosting its tactical and technical characteristics. Currently, the work on developing a gun with increased energy efficiency for prospective tank Armata is underway.” Reports previously indicated that a larger 152mm cannon was under development for the Aramta, possibly to develop a specialised more heavily armed variant of the battle tank, though these have yet to be confirmed. It is likely that the T-14 will enter service in several sub variants once mass production begins, but by fielding and testing the initial low level production variants Russia’s military can continue to provide feedback on potential improvements to the design to optimise its design until then.