The Russian army’s new tank–designed to be “superior to the West”–is looking more like the infamous Soviet-era car, the Yugo.
The T-14 Armata made its second public appearance ever during a Victory Day parade–but, right as it rolled through Moscow’s iconic Red Square, in front of Vladimir Lenin’s mausoleum, it stalled.
Better during a public parade than an invasion of Ukraine?
Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defense minister, apparently ran up to the tank to figure out what happened to the shiny new piece of Russian defense. Shortly after, servicemen tried to hook the tank up to another military vehicle for a tow–which also didn’t work.
The tank, left stranded in the middle of the very public Red Square during a parade for a good fifteen minutes, was finally moved after Alexei Zharich, a director from its manufacturer, took charge of the situation.
“[The crew’s] training is still continuing,” he justified later, via Twitter, as if a user error was the problem.
But apparently that Tweet didn’t toe the official Kremlin stance–Zharich quickly deleted it and replaced it with the even-less-truthful, “The Armata is fully operational and left under its own steam.”
This embarrassment isn’t unprecedented–apparently, an anonymous military source to a Russian news website that the Armata had broken down twice during practice runs for the Victory Day parade.
The T-14 Armata is supposed to be Russia’s new go-to battle “combat platform,” with more than 2,300 joining the army by 2020.
There’s no word on whether or not Putin has also put in an order for 2,300 new tow trucks.
