Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov reported that the mass production of tanks and fighting vehicles based on the latest Armata combat platform under a contract signed with Russia’s Defense Ministry several years ago is already underway.

“Yes, the work is underway,” the minister said, replying to a question about whether the production of these armored vehicles had begun in Russia.

The developers of the latest Russian T-14 Armata tank have resolved the problems with its engines and thermal imagers, Manturov said. “Yes, the problems with both the engines and the thermal imagers have been resolved. The engine generates the parameters and the technical characteristics that were laid out in the performance specifications upon its designing,” he said.

“As for the thermal imagers, I can confidently say that we have a fully import-substituted Russian product that is made by Shvabe [holding],” the minister said.

The Armata’s trials in the troops are proceeding in accordance with the schedule, the minister said.

The Armata family of next generation modular heavy military tracked vehicle is concluded main battle tank, an infantry fighting vehicle, an armored personnel carrier and some other armored vehicles.

The Armata platform is the basis of the T-14 tank, the T-15 heavy infantry fighting vehicle, the T-16 armoured recovery vehicle, a heavy armoured personnel carrier, a tank support combat vehicle and several types of self-propelled artillery.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko announced in August 2018 that a contract on 132 T-14 tanks and T-15 infantry fighting vehicles based on the Armata combat platform had been signed. He did not specify, though, when the document was inked. The deliveries of serial-produced Armata tanks to the Russian troops have not begun yet. Industry and Trade Minister Manturov said in April this year that the troops would get the first Armata tanks in 2021.