Russia plans to display state-of-the-art Armata T-14 tanks at its World War II victory parade on Red Square this spring, its manufacturer announced Thursday.
The T-14’s developers tout its next-level firepower, maneuvering and remote-control capabilities, as well as its unmanned turret and improved design for better survival prospects for its three-person crew.
The 14-wheel main battle tank will roll into Red Square on May 9 alongside the ground forces’ T-90 and overhauled T-72B3 tanks, according to UralVagonZavod, a subsidiary of state-owned industrial and defense conglomerate Rostec.
UralVagonZavod said that eight of its experts have arrived at the Alabino military training center outside Moscow for preparations for the May 9 Victory Day parade. They will be joined by at least 20 others for daily maintenance and diagnostics during rehearsals.
“Our tanks are some of the best in the world and we must present them well at an event of this magnitude,” said Sergei Stolyarov, head of the specialist team.
This year’s parade marks the 76th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat in World War II. It is also the sixth anniversary since Russia unveiled the Armata T-14 to much fanfare.
The 2015 parade had foisted an $80,000 bill on Moscow authorities to replace paving damaged by the tank's treads. UralVagonZavod vowed that the tanks would not leave the Russian capital’s streets in shambles this year.
“The scope of the work also includes measures to ‘dress’ and ‘shoe’ the equipment with additional dynamic protection… in order to protect the capital’s asphalt and Red Square paving stones from damage,” it said.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said last week that the military plans to receive a pilot batch of an unspecified number of Armata T-14s, T-15 infantry fighting vehicles and T-16 armored recovery vehicles in 2022.
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