Russia to show off new weapons at WWII victory parade

MOSCOW: Russia will use the grandiose Red Square parade on May 9, marking 70 years since victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, to show off a range of new weaponry.
According to IHS Jane's Defence Weekly, some of the armoured vehicles on show "represent the biggest change in Russia's armoured fighting vehicle families since the 1960s and 1970s".
From the latest generation of battle tanks to artillery systems, here is a list of some of the military hardware that will be on display:

T-14 armata tank
With a remote-controlled gun turret capable of firing missiles, the Armata is billed as the "flagship" of a new family of increasingly automated Russian armoured vehicles.
The three-man crew is housed in a self-contained capsule at the front of the tank's chassis with control over a fearsome 125mm main cannon, a secondary 30mm gun and a 12.7mm machine gun.
Despite concerns over the high cost of production, the Russian military reportedly will start receiving the tanks this year and will eventually boast some 2,300 of the modern weapons.
Heralded as the future pride of the Russian forces, the Armata appeared to suffer a hitch at a rehearsal in the run-up to victory parade when one of the new tanks embarrassingly stalled on Red Square.

Koalitsiya artillery system
Designed to destroy enemy nuclear bunkers and blast through fortifications scores of kilometres away, the new self-propelled artillery system has a 152mm cannon and is estimated to weigh about 55 tonnes.

Kurganets armoured personnel carrier
Another of the new generation of robotic armoured vehicles, the Kurganets APC is set to replace the current crop of Soviet-era troop carriers. Designed to ferry infantry in greater safety, the 25-tonne beast has guns that are controlled remotely by the crew and can be fitted with larger cannons.

Boomerang armoured personnel carrier
The eight-wheeler troop carrier has a propeller at the back of its hull to allow it to act as an amphibious vehicle. It is believed that it will eventually be topped off with an unmanned automated gun turret.

Kornet anti-tank system
Looking like a beefed-up jeep with a serious sound system, the 4x4 Kornet is equipped with eight missiles in banks of four on each side and is designed to blast enemy armour apart.

Also on display
Not new but on show will be the mammoth Yars RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile system, designed to fire nuclear warheads.
Also rumbling across Red Square will be Buk surface-to-air missile systems. Kiev and the West have claimed such a system was used by pro-Russian rebels in east Ukraine to shoot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in July, killing all 298 people on board. – AFP