Russia will start the mass production of the advanced Kurganets-25 combat vehicles in 2021, the Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Yury Borisov said April 26, 2017.

“Serial production will start in 2021, but that does not mean that we abandoned it.We have time to identify all the bottlenecks, test them, hedge all the technical risks associated with engine development, with automatic transmission, sighting systems, said Yury Borisov.

The Kurganets-25 is a new Russian tracked, 25-ton modular platform being developed for the Russian Army. The Kurganets-25 will have modular armor that can be upgraded for specific threats.

There are two versions of the vehicle: a heavily armed infantry fighting vehicle carrying 6-7 troops; and a lightly armed APC carrying eight troops. Other variants proposed for the Kurganets include an armored ambulance, an 82 mm Vasilek mortar carrier, anti-tank vehicle, armored recovery vehicle, a reconnaissance vehicle, a command vehicle, and an armored engineering vehicle.