'Without hyperbole, Armata represents the most revolutionary step change in tank design in the last half century,' the unnamed official wrote. In 2016, a briefing paper from a senior army intelligence officer, seen by British newspaper The Telegraph, described the T-14 as deserving of 'its billing as the most revolutionary tank in a generation.' The T-14's development prompted a level of worry in Britain's armed forces, a leaked memo highlighted. After beginning preliminary testing in 2019, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced in 2021 that a first 'pilot' tranche would be delivered the following year. The T-14 Armata is a new main battle tank, first revealed in Moscow back in 2015. Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images What is the T-14 Armata? The problem-plagued T-14 is reluctantly being accepted by Russian commanders in Ukraine, the British defense ministry said on Wednesday. In an intelligence update published on Wednesday morning, the MoD once again looked at Russian preparations for the first possible deployment of the main battle tank in combat.īut Russian forces deployed in Ukraine have been 'reluctant to accept the first tranche of T-14 allocated to them because the vehicles were in such poor condition,' the MoD wrote in a Twitter post.Īlthough the ministry could not confirm the details of the reportedly lukewarm reaction to the tank from Russian command, it suggested that a slew of delays and problems likely contributed.Ī Russian T-14 Armata tank participates in a Victory Day Parade rehearsal in Moscow on May 4, 2022.

Images published by the ministry on Twitter showed two T-14 Armatas in southern Russia at a facility 'associated with pre-deployment activity' for Ukraine. Russia has likely been considering whether to send a first wave of its new main battle tanks to Ukraine, the MoD said on January 19.

The T-14 Armata tank, once labeled by a senior British army official as 'the most revolutionary tank in a decade,' is being reluctantly accepted by Russian commanders in Ukraine, the British defense ministry (MoD) said on Wednesday.

Russian new main battle tank