Associated Press
T-14 main battle tank.
- Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat is currently on an official visit to Russia, where he will discuss
defense deals worth over $10 billion. - One of the topics of conversation will be the T-14 Armata battle tank and other platforms part of the Armata universal chassis system.
- But a US law known as the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act could throw a wrench in any future deals.
Russia may have a major buyer interested in its next generation T-14 Armata battle tank.
Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat is currently on an official visit to Russia, where he will tour several military facilities and discuss defense deals worth over $10 billion, according to Russian and Indian media.
One of the topics of conversation will be the T-14 Armata battle tank and other platforms part of the Armata universal chassis system, according to The Diplomat, which cited Indian defense sources.
Russia's Armata Universal Combat Platform is based on a single chassis that can be used for other Armata vehicles, such as the T-14 tank, the T-15 (or Terminator 3) Infantry fighting vehicle and the Koalitsiya-SV self-propelled howitzer.
In November 2017, India announced it was looking for 1,770 combat vehicles to replace its aging arsenal of Soviet armored vehicles, made up mostly of Soviet T-72s tanks.
New Delhi plans to build whichever vehicles it ends up choosing in India with help from the manufacturer.
But a US law known as the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which President Donald Trump signed last August, could throw a wrench in any future deals.
CAATSA sanctions any country trading with Russia's defense and intelligence sectors, but sanctions could be avoided by a new provision in the National Defense Authorization Act that allows the president to exempt sanctions on any purchases.
Initially, Moscow said it would put 2,300 T-14s into service by 2020, but has massively scaled back procurements due to budget constraints.
Moscow signed a contract for 132 T-14 and T-15 platforms in late August, with the first nine getting delivered in 2018, and the rest by 2021, Russian state-owned media outlet TASS reported.