This can be considered the best “fire test” place for Russia’s T-14 Armata MBT line, which has received high praise from international military experts. However, according to the official statement of Russian defense industry officials, this MBT line will not participate in special military campaigns in Ukraine. So why doesn’t Russia send the T-14 Armata MBT into battle? It all has a reason.
“Modernity comes with bad electricity”
On March 4, RIA Novosti news agency reported that Sergey Chemezov, Chairman of Russia’s state-owned defense corporation Rostec, announced that the advanced MBT T-14 Armata has been deployed to the Russian Army, but will not be deployed. deployed to Ukraine. Mr. Sergey Chemezov stated that the reason for this is that large-scale production of T-14 Armata tanks has been limited due to their high cost.
Expensive cost, complex technology and the risk of technology leaks are the main reasons why the T-14 Armata does not appear in Ukraine. Photo: Getty
According to Mr. Sergey Chemezov, the T-14 Armata has superior technical and tactical features compared to modern tanks in the world, but due to its high cost, it is difficult to be used in special operations in Ukraine. .
Mr. Sergey Chemezov’s statement is completely grounded in technical and economic terms. Although the cost of each T-14 MBT has never been officially announced by the Russian side, according to calculations by Western experts, the T-14 Armata MBT costs 5-9 million USD each, significantly higher. compared to the current MBT models the Russian Army is using. Specifically, the T-72B3 variant costs from 750,000 to 1.2 million USD each, the T-80BVM is about 3 million USD and the T-90M is about 4.5 million USD.
This does not even take into account the fact that the T-14 is a completely new tank. The production line of components and component elements has not achieved the same high efficiency as the production and assembly process of traditional tanks. According to many sources, the Russian Army is currently staffed with 20 T-14 tanks under a contract to order 100 vehicles and this number shows no signs of increasing rapidly in the near future.
According to Topwar, the MBT T-14 is actually still in the pre-production stage. They are still being calibrated and upgraded based on combat experience in Ukraine. Cost factors and remaining technical problems are one of the major obstacles that prevent the T-14 from being widely equipped and put to use in combat in Ukraine.
In fact, since April 2023, T-14 tanks have been sent to the front in Ukraine many times, but on a technological testing scale and in complete secrecy.
MBT T-14 once appeared in Ukraine, but to test technology and firepower. Photo: Lenta
Risk of revealing secret technologies
The Ukrainian battlefield has proven that traditional anti-tank weapons are superior to modern tank technology. The appearance of anti-tank missiles with the power to penetrate more than 1 meter of uniform steel, roof-breaking attack technology or, most recently, the widespread appearance of suicide drones… are capable of ability to destroy the most modern tanks.