Cannon Upgrade for Russian Armata Tank

Russia's next-generation Armata tank that was showcased at the victory day parade in Mascow, could be equipped with 152mm cannon, the Izvestia daily reported Thursday citing Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.

Apart from 7.62 remote-control machine gun, the Armata tank includes 125mm smoothbore cannon. The tank is operated by a crew of three, housed in an armored capsule at the front.

A column of Armata tanks, equipped with 125mm cannons, rolled through Moscow's historic Red Square on May 9. The Russian President Vladimir Putin and a number of foreign heads of state, including Chinese leader Xi Jinping witnessed the show.

"We have a shell that can burn through a meter-wide steel [plate] for this tank, we will fit it onto the Armata," Rogozin was quoted as saying by Izvestia.

The Armata is a Russian prototype of a heavy tracked vehicle platform, which is the base to develop a next-generation main battle tank and a range of other combat vehicles.