Mil.ru
The Russian military has released its first official picture of the new "Armata" Universal Combat Platform that will form the base of its main battle tank.
The pictures come as part of the preparations for the Victory Day parade on May 9 in the Russian capital. Among the over 100 vehicles that will drive through the streets of Moscow during this year's event, there will be ten T-14 battle tanks that are built on the "Armata" platform.
The tanks will ultimately replace the current main battle tank of the Russian Ground Forces and Naval Infantry - the T-90, according to independent Russian news service Interfax:
The tank on the "Armata" platform is intended for use as a new main battle tank Russian Ground Forces with fundamentally new performance characteristics, including a new gun ammunition feed.
The graphic below from the Russian state-owned news service Tass, translated by US Army's Foreign Military Studies Office, shows the tanks key characteristics:
Business Insider reported that one of the most important pieces of technology added to the Armata is the Afganit active protection complex, a system that uses Doppler radar to detect incoming projectiles such as rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles.
The Uralvagonzavod plant at which they are being built plans to roll out as many as 500 T-14s a year once they enter service.