Russian Next-Generation Armata Tank to Receive Bigger Cannon

Russia’s next-generation Armata tank, recently showcased at the Victory Day parade in Moscow, could be fitted with a bigger, 152mm cannon, the Izvestia daily reported Thursday citing Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.

The Armata tank’s main armament includes a 7.62mm remote-control machine gun and a 125mm smoothbore cannon. The tank is operated by a crew of three, housed in an armored capsule at the front.

A column of Armata tanks, equipped with 125mm cannons, rolled through Moscow’s historic Red Square on May 9 as Russian President Vladimir Putin and a number of foreign heads of state, including Chinese leader Xi Jinping, watched on.

“We have a shell that can burn through a meter-wide steel [plate] for this tank, we will fit it onto the Armata,” Rogozin was quoted as saying by Izvestia.

The Armata is a Russian prototype of a heavy tracked vehicle platform, used as a basis to build a next-generation main battle tank and a range of other combat vehicles.