Russian WW2 parade: a tank-spotter's guide

Written by Laurence Peter and Pavel Aksenov, BBC News

The Armata T-14 tank was driven through Moscow in a parade rehearsal

​Russia will stage its biggest ever military parade on 9 May, to mark the 70th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two... ...

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​A rehearsal in central Moscow has revealed some new hi-tech Russian armour for the first time, lifting a veil of military secrecy. The most talked-about innovation is the Armata T-14 battle tank, described as a new-generation fighting machine to replace Soviet-era tanks.

​The tank is highly automated - the Russian military says it could be the basis for a fully robotic tank in future.

​It has a remote-control gun turret with a 125mm smooth-bore cannon that can fire guided missiles as well as shells.

​The crew of three is housed in a reinforced capsule at the front, away from the firing systems.

​The Armata's chassis is adaptable - it can also serve as the platform for a heavy infantry fighting vehicle, an engineering vehicle, a multiple rocket launcher and some other variants.

​Russia plans to bring in about 2,300 Armatas, starting in 2020, to replace Soviet-era tanks. They are built by UralVagonZavod.

​Jane's Defence Weekly says the T-14 and Russia's other new armoured systems are "principally clean-slate designs" that "represent the biggest change in Russia's armoured fighting vehicle families since the 1960s and 1970s"

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32588868