Tank War in Ukraine: Russian T-14 vs. Exported US Abrams Variants

by Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington DC) Putin has now deployed Russia’s highly touted T-14 Armata next-generation tank to Ukraine, a development of significance given that the tank has as of yet not been tested in combat.

Could these tanks have a decisive impact in Ukraine? It seems possible, although Russia is not likely to operate a large or very significant number of T-14s, as multiple public reports have indicated they may operate roughly 20 at the moment.

What would happen if the T-14 encountered the US Abrams in Ukraine? This scenario is now entirely realistic

Is the t-14 tank as superior as Russian media reports claim? There may certainly be a lot of unknowns, although the T-14 is reported in the Russian press to be faster, more mobile and more deployable than most existing tanks. The T-14 is reported to operate at speeds up to 55mph and weigh only 55 tons, according to a report from hotcars.com, This would make it more expeditionary and able to travel over bridges, urban areas or other places where a 70-ton tank might be challenged to operate.

While, quite naturally, the range and particular technical capabilities of the US Army’s emerging tank sights are not available for security reasons, several Russian news reports – such as GRU Pycckoe – report that the new Russian T-14 Armata’s thermal targeting sights are able to discern tank-size targets during the daytime at ranges out to 5 kilometers. The same reports state the nighttime sights can reach 3.5 kilometers.

A news report from Sputnik several years ago reported that tank-maker Uralvagonzavod has developed a “remotely-detonated” 125mm shell for the T-14 Armata.

A report in Popular Mechanics from several years ago says the T-14s new, now-in-development 3UBK21 Sprinter missile can hit ranges more than 7 miles,, according to the report. The Armata’s current round, the 9M119 Reflecks, has a range of 3.1 miles (roughly comparable to the current Abrams) and can penetrate up to 900 millimeters of armor, Popular Mechanics writes.