Yeah, thought they were skint? "The Russian Army has unveiled it's powerful new tank, set to go on display at the annual World War II memorial parade in Moscow this week. The T-14 Armata has previously only been seen with its turret covered, but these images, published by the Russian Defense Ministry, show the new tank in full. The tank is said to surpass all Western versions because of its remotely controlled cannon and the protection it offers its crew. The T-14 Armata, which is set to undergo trials next year, is the first new Russian tank since the T-90 was put in production in 1993. The Moscow Victory Day Parade is held on May 9th, and will this year commemorate the 70th anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in 1945." http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3067609/Putin-unveils-new-Russian-tank-1993-powerful-gun-huge-arsenal-sophisticated-military-hardware.html#ixzz3ZDkJcjU8
Interesting tank by the looks of it but I think they are being a bit ambitious in what they want and hope for. 2,300 MBT's, 2,000 APC's and probably a similar number of IFV's is a big order to fill in the time frame they are after (Been mentioned to have all the MBT's by 2020), i don't see the time frame being met though from the outside they appear to have utilized a singular platform quite effectively around several different vehicle types. I'd imagine this must mean a change in past Russian military tactics, Unless they plan to keep their other 42,000+ MBT's, APC and IFV's in reserve..
Not having the amount of cash flowing in, is not the same as an unwillingness to spend... Russian GDP still grew last year, by 0.6% which was more than expected, in spite of a lot of foreign investment drying up, and falling oil price. They're doing far better than the Australians, the budget of which was recently described as having been "...written by Steven King, and painted by Edward Munch." by Deloitte. ("The wheels fall off.")
I wouldn't go as far as saying they are doing better then us Aussies, Our GDP is still growing stronger then theirs while our currency is still actually quite high compared to what it should be (stubborn bloody Aussie dollar just wont fall down). While the Russian economy did grow 0.6% in 2014 you need to look at it on a quarterly factor as well to get a better understanding of the direction, In the first half it grew 1%, For the end result to have been 0.6% would have required the Russian economy to have actually receded in the second half of 2014. http://ieconomics.com/russia-australia That link shows that in the 3rd quarter the Russian economy had neither any growth or fall back, Which with some math's implies that the 4th quarter had the economy fall 0.4%. I'd imagine it has simply taken time for the dried of foreign investment to bite, But looking at the budget in a quarterly fashion shows it is biting. All that aside, While not having the cash flow is not the same as unwillingness to spend it looking at recent event's it gives me the impression that this program will be slowed down, Most other military project's have been slowed down so no reason why this would be an exception, It is not exactly a priority in the grand scheme of things surrounding the Russian armed forces.
Apparently they are also working on a plan to deploy these tanks anywhere in the world in 7 hours! http://rt.com/news/242097-pak-ta-russian-army/ 80 Heavy lift cargo aircraft with a 200t capacity each that can travel up to 2,000 km/h. Oh and apparently they will be built by 2024. I don't see this having a snow balls chance in hell of actually happening or being feasible.
