Russia has pulled its T-14 Armata tanks from the Ukraine war.
Moscow deployed the tanks to test their performance in “real combat conditions,” TASS reported.
The assessment would help modify the platform, the Russian state-owned outlet added, citing a source.
“The Armata tank was used several times in the combat zone in Ukraine. Based on the results of the use in the special operation, the vehicle is now being finalized,” the outlet quoted the source as saying.
Deployment in Ukraine
The Russian Army began deploying the T-14 in combat earlier this year, according to Russian media.
However, the tank was used to fire on Ukrainian positions from a standoff distance, shielding them from “direct assault operations.”
The T-14s deployed in Ukraine feature “additional side protection from anti-tank ammunition,” state-backed RIA Novosti reported in April.
According to the outlet, tank crews underwent “combat coordination” training in one of the occupied Donbas regions for a few months prior to their deployment.
Ukraine was the second combat deployment of the Uralvagonzavod-developed tank after Syria.
Project Armata
A regular fixture of military parades since 2014, the T-14 has played almost no role in the ongoing Ukraine war, which has seen over 2,000 Russian tanks destroyed, abandoned, or damaged.
A decade ago, Russia ordered the production of over 2,000 T-14s by 2020. However, only a few dozen have been visible by 2021, according to Popular Mechanics.
“Production is probably only in the low tens, while commanders are unlikely to trust the vehicle in combat,” the British military said.
“Eleven years in development, the program has been dogged with delays, reduction in planned fleet size, and reports of manufacturing problems.”
Features
The tank features an unmanned turret with the crew controlling the weapons remotely from an “isolated” armored capsule in the hull.
Additional features include an active defense system to shoot down projectiles such as rockets and missiles and a modular design to integrate mission-specific systems.
