A photo published in open media indicates there are at least three T-14 Armata main battle tanks in service with the armed forces of russia, this is enough to make up a tank platoon. The picture appears to show russian tank crews training to operate the vehicles.
Read more: russia’s Troops Are Reluctant to Get Notorious T-14 Armata Tanks Because of Their Poor Condition
Here we should remind of the earlier statements by russian state media that T-14 Armata's were "tested" in battles against the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the frontlines in Ukraine, and "withdrawn" afterwards, although there was no confirmation of that was presented, and no indications of T-14 relocations were spotted by social media users.
For instance, there was a claim from December 2022 that Armata's were already on their way to Ukraine, supported by footage indeed showing these tanks. However, the videos and photos turned out to be filmed at a training ground far from the frontline.
Though fair to note that these visuals seemed to be genuine at that time because there were reports about T-14 Armata tests resumed in October 2022, with a new engine: the initial design was supposed to be powered by an A-85-3A diesel engine with 1500 hp. Instead, the videos from tests featured the sound more characteristic of some gas turbine engine.
Then, in December 2022, the Military-Industrial Commission of the russian federation promised to launch mass production of T-14 Armata, with the first 40 units delivered to the russian army after 2023.
But it seems that besides the neverending tests, the prospects of the T-14 Armata project might be jeopardized by another impending issue related to the personnel to operate these tanks.
There are already problems with the amount of time and quality of preparation the russian tank crews receive before being sent into battle. Now in the case of Armata in particular, there is also a question of how the russian Ministry of Defense decides to allocate the available technicians among the tank production projects.
In the current situation, there is very limited "human resource" the russian industry can afford to involve in the ambitious T-14 Armata endeavor with vague prospects, as the manufacturers have their hands full with restoration of old Soviet vehicles taken from long-term storage and other, more promising projects.
Namely, in September 2023, russian biggest tank maker UralVagonZavod announced the plans to re-establish the manufacture of T-80, and it will be not the classic Soviet variant but most likely the T-80 Burlak – sort of a low-cost alternative to the T-14 Armata.
Read more: Russia’s Tank Fleet is Rapidly Turning Into a Soviet One - a Visual Statistics of Losses
