“The T-14 is a complete departure from previous Soviet and Russian tanks”, which “were relatively simple, extremely rugged and produced in mass quantities”, according to the article in The national Interest magazine.
“In fact, the Armata comes in many versions as was envisioned for the US Army’s now-defunct Future Combat System program. There is a tank, infantry-fighting vehicle, a self-propelled artillery piece and a host of other variants. The most prominent of these is the T-14 main battle tank Armata variant.”
The Armata, it says, is now fitted with “a number of very advanced features that have never been implemented in an operational tank anywhere else in the world”.
First of all, it bet on “crew survivability”. In its attempt to find a reason for Russia's determination to put a premium on the safety of its troops, the media outlet concluded that it had something to do with Russia’s “declining demographics”.
“The advantage is that the crew compartment is physically separated from the ammunition. Further, the tank is equipped with passive laminated armor combined with reactive armor and an active protection system. The Afghanit active protection system allegedly includes millimeter-wave radars to detect, track and intercept incoming rounds. Taken in aggregate, the Armata offers much-better crew survivability than any previous Russian or Soviet tank—assuming all of these features work.”
As for the Abrams, it is hailed as “a proven, reliable design that is still being upgraded."
While neglecting to assess the current US arsenal's ability to measure up to Russia's latest war machines, the outlet has high hopes for the future combat capabilities of the US ground forces, claiming "the forthcoming M1A3 Will be somewhat lighter and more mobile. The US Army also Plans to replace the 120mm M256 smoothbore gun with a lighter version.”
“New guided projectiles Might also enable the Abrams to hit targets as far away as 12,000m”, it adds, optimistically.
The tank that sees the enemy first almost always wins the fight, it says, neglecting the irony of the fact that Russia is already able to produce next-generation main battle tanks.
“The Armata is a new design, and it will inevitably have teething problems as it matures. Further, there is the question of whether the T-14 can be produced in numbers—that’s very much a factor, given the state of Russia’s economy. Ultimately, it could prove to be a formidable weapon,” it concludes.
