Russian army has ordered 132 T-14 tanks & T-15 Armata infantry fighting vehicles.

The Russian Defense Ministry has concluded 32 state contracts worth over 130 billion rubles with Russian defense enterprises, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko said at the Army-2018 forum.

T-14 Armata main battle tank at Army-2018 International Military Technical Forum, Moscow Region, Moscow. (Picture source Army Recognition)

The Russian Defense Ministry and the UralVagonZavod (UVZ) Company have signed a contract for delivering 132 T-14 tanks and T-15 Armata infantry fighting vehicles. According to Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko, the first nine Armata vehicles will arrive in the troops this year.

"As for now we have signed a contract for 132 T-14 tanks and T-15 IFVs. We are going to receive the first nine vehicles this year," he said. All the deliveries are supposed to be completed before 2021.

The development of the T-14 Armata was launched in 2013, followed by the delivery of a first prototype in 2015. The T-14 Armata was unveiled for the first time to the public during the military parade in Moscow for the Victory Day, May 9, 2015. The T-14 Armata is equipped with an unmanned turret and all the crew is located at the front of the hull. The new unmanned remote turret of Armata T-14 is equipped with a new generation of 125mm 2A82-1M smoothbore gun with an automatic loader and 32 rounds ready to use.

The T-15 BMP Armata is the latest generation of AIFV (Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle) developed and manufactured by the Russian Defense Industry. The T-15 BMP is fitted with an unmanned turret located at the rear of the vehicle, designed and manufactured by the Defense Company KBP. According to Russian military experts, the turret is equipped with one 30mm 2A42 automatic cannon as main armament. Second armament of the vehicle includes a PKTM 7,62mm machine gun and two anti-tank guided missile Kornet-D launchers mounted on each side of the turret.