The newest Russian tanks have been introduced to the Ukrainian battlefield by Vladimir Putin.
According to the state news agency RIA, Russian forces have begun firing on Ukrainian positions with the T-14 Armata but have not yet “participated in direct assault operations.”
The ‘invisible tank’ moniker comes from the developers who boasted about the armored vehicle’s high speed of 50 mph and claimed it could avoid hostile radar detection.
It is claimed to be outfitted with cutting-edge technology, as well as an autonomous turret and additional protection on its flanks. It is regarded as Russia’s most dreaded tank.
Crews control its weapons remotely from ‘an isolated armoured capsule located in the front of the hull’ and RIA said the tanks underwent ‘combat coordination’ at training grounds in Ukraine before they were deployed.
But it’s taken some time for the war machine to be called into action since they were first unveiled by Putin at Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow in 2015, and they’ve been highly criticised by the British military as ‘untrustworthy’.
The T-14 was among the new vehicles on show for the first time that day – but it broke down on its debut outing in the rehearsal, leading to an awkward recovery effort.
British military intelligence reported in January that Russian forces in Ukraine were reluctant to accept the first batch of the tanks because of their ‘poor condition’.
It also said any deployment of the T-14 would likely be ‘a high-risk decision’ for Russia and one taken mainly to serve propaganda purposes.
The British military said: ‘Production is probably only in the low tens while commanders are unlikely to trust the vehicle in combat.
‘11 years in development, the programme has been dogged with delays, reduction in planned fleet size, and reports of manufacturing problems.’
Russia’s T-14 Armata tank
- Cost: £5.6 million
- Main weapon: 125mm smoothbore cannon
- Secondary weapons: 12.7mm Kord machine gun, 7.62 mm PKTM machine gun
- Armour: 44S-sv-Sh steel
- Engine: 12Н360 diesel double turbocharger
- Top speed: 50mph
- Weight: 55 tonnes
- Length: 35ft
- Width: 11ft
- Height: 11ft
- Crew: 3
According to Russian media reports, the Kremlin ordered 2,300 of the tanks to be manufactured by 2020, but the date was later pushed back to 2025.
In December 2021, the Interfax news agency reported state conglomerate Rostec had started production of 40 tanks and anticipated they’d be ready by this year.
Nato has already been equipping the Ukrainian army with dozens of state-of-the-art battle tanks, which could soon come face-to-face with the T-14.
Among its many new systems, T-14 developers UralVagonZavod claimed one of its most advanced capabilities was being able to screen itself from enemy radar and infrared heat-seeking target finders.
A cloaking device is reportedly buried deep behind a shield inside the heavily armoured body, which disrupts the infrared signature that would pinpoint its location for enemy forces.
The manufacturer’s head of special equipment Vyacheslav Khalitov said: ‘We essentially made the invisible tank.’
This week, Ukrainian forces crossed the Dnipro River for the first time since the invasion last year in preparation for a counter attack.
Speculation has been growing over when the Ukrainian army would launch its counter offensive to try and push back Russian troops.