Armata vs. Abrams: Who Would Win If Russia and America’s Best Tanks Battled?

You make the call.

Charlie Gao [2]

During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a constant competition to develop better tanks and anti-tank technology. While this was disrupted by the breakup of the Soviet Union and the resulting cuts in defense budgets on both sides, the next generation of tanks are finally reaching maturity. Representing the United States and based on a slow progression of technology on an existing design is the M1A2 SEP v3. Representing Russia and based on a set of almost all-new technology and design is the T-14 Armata. While truly accurate comparisons of these tanks is almost impossible due to the classified nature of their exact characteristics, it is possible to analyze their capabilities based on a comparison of what we know of their systems and subsystems, to get a rough idea of how they might perform on the battlefield.

The T-14 Armata can be accurately described as the first true “Russian” tank to land a contract for production, as it is the first tank design to do so that came after the fall of the Soviet Union. Design work for it began in 2010 [3] at OAO NPK Uralvagonzavod (UVZ), which also designed the T-55, T-62, T-72 and T-90 tanks. The tank is designed around the unmanned turret, which makes it unlike any other main battle tank (MBT) in service and gives it a unique set of advantages and disadvantages. It also includes next generation versions of systems that were considered key systems of previous generations of tanks: 125mm smoothbore cannons, Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) and Active Protection Systems (APS). The almost complete use of domestic products is also notable. Russian tanks used to rely on high-tech foreign components in some subsystems. The entire information management suite—hardware and software—is also domestically produced.

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The unmanned turret provides the Armata with its main advantage: enhanced crew survivability. While maximizing crew survivability is always a priority in tank design, the Armata takes it to the next level by placing the entire crew in an armored capsule in the tank’s hull. This allows for better crew armor protection as the armor can be concentrated to protect this capsule in the hull—as opposed to being spread out to protect crew positions in the hull and the turret. The ammo is separated from the crew, increasing the probability of crew survival in the event that the ammunition load is hit. In prior Russian tanks, the ammunition was stored in the same area as the crew, surrounding them. The separate ammunition and crew capsules could allow for more aggressive firefighting methods—such as flooding the entire chamber with CO2 gas, which would kill the crew of a manned turret—but it is unknown if these systems are implemented at this time.