Putin’s new tank designed to ‘outclass the West’ breaks down
A new Russian tank announced with much fanfare as superior to Western machines stalled during a dress rehearsal for Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on Thursday.
The T-14 Armata, making only its second public appearance, ground to a halt on Red Square, opposite Vladimir Lenin’s mausoleum.
Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minster, was reportedly forced to approach the tank to find out what had happened; servicemen then tried to hook it up to another military vehicle and tow it away.
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That attempt was unsuccessful but the tank finally moved off after an expert from the Urals factory – where it was made – took the controls, according to Alexei Zharich, the deputy general director of Uralvagonzavod, the tank’s manufacturer.
He later deleted that tweet and wrote another, saying: “The Armata is fully operational and left under its own steam.”
Another military source confirmed to Russian media that the incident was likely due to driver error rather than a technical failure.
Air defence missile launchers, intercontinental ballistic missile carriers and tanks rumbled through central Moscow in a rehearsal of the military parade to be held on Saturday, when Russia marks the 70th anniversary of the end of what it calls the Great Patriotic War.
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The stalled tank – which was stationary for about 15 minutes – was an embarrassment for the military. Dmitry Rogozin, the deputy prime minister in charge of defence, called the T-14 “a beauty” earlier this week, and Russian experts have been lauding its superiority to Western rivals such as the US Abrams and British Challenger.
The T-14 Armata is to be the main battle tank of Russia’s ground forces, and 2,300 are expected to be produced for the army by 2020. It has a remotely-controlled turret with an automatic weapons loading system and an armoured capsule for the three-man crew.
“Just imagine how worried the lads [crew] are, driving this new military vehicle for the first time,” he tweeted. “Their training is still continuing.”
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