The Russian-made T-14 tank Armata is three to five years ahead of its Western competitors, Swiss military official Stefan Bühler said, cited by German magazine Focus Online.
Although Bühler doesn't view the tank as a revolutionary model, he admits that in terms of technical characteristics the vehicle surpasses other battle tanks produced in the West.
According to him, when in a few years Western countries are able to manufacture a similar model, Russia will further have improved the specifications of the combat vehicle, while the tank crew will gain substantial experience in operating the Armata.
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The unique combination of previously known technologies in the Russian tank is a new milestone in the military field. Although the official believes that some improvements still need to be made, he considers it an advantage and argues that Russia has a more pragmatic approach to its military industry compared to the West.
"Better an 80% solution right on time that can be optimized on the basis of tests and deployment experience, than a 100% paper tiger," Bühler said, commenting on the issue.
The tank has a new generation 125mm smoothbore cannon, newly-designed high-powered munitions and an all-weather digital fire-control system capable of destroying heavily-protected targets on a 24-hour basis.
