Thousands of Muscovites were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Russia’s latest military hardware rolling across the cobbles of Moscow’s iconic Red Square during the first night-time rehearsal ahead of Victory Day parade.
Infantry from Russia,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and
Tajikistan practiced their performances in front of the public
for the first time this year, ahead of Victory Day on May 9.
Troops from other countries such as India, Mongolia, Serbia, and
China were also present at the rehearsal.
But the most anticipated event of the rehearsal was the debut of
the latest models of the Russian armored tank T-14 built on the
“Armata” platform as well as the showcasing of the latest 152mm
self-propelled artillery howitzer Coalition-SV.
Тверская pic.twitter.com/owPIxWJ2J1
— Меркури (@imerkouri) April
29, 2015
The Armata’s main advantage over similar existing technology lies
in its unmanned turret, controlled remotely from an isolated
armored capsule. The latest tank has a state-of-the-art radar
system that can simultaneously track up to 40 ground and 25 air
targets within a 60-mile radius.
#ПарадПобеды #9мая #деньпобеды #краснаяплощадь
#репетицияA video posted by Тимур (@timsoid) on Apr 29, 2015 at 1:54pm PDT
The Kurganets-25 and the Kornet-D, an upgraded version of the
hard-hitting Kornet anti-tank system, were also driven during a
run-through in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Kurganets-25
features a new active-defense system against tank shells.
A photo posted by Тимур (@timsoid) on Apr 29, 2015 at 1:54pm PDT
But to preserve intrigue over the main parade on May 9, whch
marks the 70th anniversary of defeat over Nazi Germany, parts of
the newly showcased military technology were still covered in a
special cloth casing.
Among the new technology to be showcased are the latest models of
weapons for the Russian Airborne Troops, including a
multi-purpose armored vehicle, Rakushka, as well as mobile
missile launch system Yars.
Over 15,000 personnel and about 200 pieces of military equipment
will be on display, including weaponry never before seen by the
public when the Victory Parade kicks off on the morning of May 9,
which falls on a Saturday. For those who still want to witness
the Russian military hardware on the move before the Victory Day
parade, three more rehearsals are scheduled to take place on May
4, 6 and 7.