Russia stops production of T-14 Armata

The statement was made by Mr. Yuri Borisov on July 29, the Russian armed forces do not want to buy Armata tanks in large numbers because of the high cost.

"Well, why should we equip the series with Armata tanks, we have T-72s with great demand on the market, they compare with Abrams, Leclerc and Leopard in price, efficiency and quality, the situation is similar with Boomerang combat vehicles.

We don't really need this (to buy a series of new T-14 Armata tanks), these tanks are quite expensive compared to the existing ones," the Russian Deputy Prime Minister said frankly.

Currently, Russia's defense funds have been diverted to modernizing old tanks and Moscow has decided to upgrade the T-72, T-80 and T-90... Russia has returned and created tank brigades equipped with the upgraded T-72B3, T-80BVM and T-90M main battle tanks.

Mr. Yuri Borisov's admission did not surprise many people about the progress of the Armata tank program and especially the issue related to the price of this new generation tank. Because at the Army-2017 Exhibition, Mr. Yuri Borisov himself revealed the real price of the T-14 Armata.

Currently, 23 contracts worth about 2.8 billion USD have been signed with defense contractors and 100 T-14 Armata tanks will be delivered to the Russian army before 2020. This Armata tank contract is worth up to 500 million USD.

The first batch of T-14 Armata tanks will be equipped with the 1st Guards Tank Regiment of the 2nd Guards Tamanskaya Mechanized Division stationed in the outskirts of Moscow and partly in Russia's Western Military District.

There would be nothing worth mentioning about the contract package of 100 Armata tanks for the Russian army if we did not consider its price because it would take up to 500 million USD to own 100 Armata tanks - equivalent to 5 million USD/tank.

This is a very expensive price compared to Russia's previous offers to foreign customers. Specifically, in September 2015, Mr. Oleg Syenko - General Director of Uralvagonzavod revealed that the unit price of each T-14 Armata tank would be only 3.75 million USD. With this price, T-14 Armata becomes very competitive with rivals from the US and Europe in the export market.

Competitors to the Armata, such as the German Leopard 2, the American M1 Abrams and the British Challenger 2, are much more expensive (between $6.8 and $8.6 million each). Only the Chinese Type 99 main battle tank is cheaper, at around $2.6 million.

In the short term, this price seems impossible because it is as cheap as the T-90 tank. However, the surprisingly low price can still be applied to customers who buy Armata tanks in large quantities. According to Mr. Victor Murakhovski, a member of the expert council of the Russian Military-Defense Industry Committee, the technical specifications of the T-14 Armata are significantly superior to those of its American counterpart.

"If you compare the technical specifications on paper, the firepower and armor protection level of the Armata is 30-40% better than the Abrams. In terms of price, it should be noted that when buying a tank, there are also costs associated with ammunition, maintenance facilities, and crew training. Because of this, the price of a tank will be much more expensive if considered on a unit-by-unit basis," Murakhovski explained.

At the Victory Day celebrations on May 9, 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged that the Russian military would receive 2,300 new tanks under a program that would last until 2020. However, that program was developed and budgeted before the economic recession that hit Russia in 2014.

With the economy only growing at the current rate, it will be difficult for Russia to buy 2,300 Armatas, especially since the price is not 3.75 million USD but up to nearly 5 million USD/unit.