Russia has taken a desperate step to speed-up production of its delayed T-14 Armata main battle tank (MBT) by authorizing state-owned arms maker Rostec Corporation to take over UralVagonZavod (UVZ), the firm currently producing the T-14.

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UralVagonZavod is also the largest maker of main battle tanks in the world. In 2008, UralVagonZavod produced more MBTs than the rest of the world combined.

Founded by the Kremlin in 2007, Rostec is an umbrella corporation that controls over two-thirds of Russia's defense industry.

Its job is to promote the development, production and export of industrial products for the civilian and defense sectors. It brings together about 700 entities, which are part of 14 holding companies.

"Our task after we obtain control over the plant," said Sergey Abamov, Rostec weapons cluster director.

Rostec will set up coordination between the UVZ military segment and other holdings and entities to improve the effectiveness of the production process and to increase the competitiveness of the products.

Over the next 18 months, Rostec will work with the state-owned Vnesheconombank to solve UralVagonZavod's debt and financial woes before Rostec takes full control of the company.

UralVagonZavod's dire financial straits have negatively impacted its ability to product the T-14.

It was only in September 2016 the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation signed an order for a pilot batch of more than 100 Armatas that will all be used in field trials. The deal with Uralvagonzavod will see the first pilot batch take part in comprehensive military tests simulating combat situations.

UralVagonZavod, however, can only produce some 120 T-14s a month and it will take nearly 21 years to replace Russia's 2,500 operational tanks with T-14s. But the biggest problem isn't production. It's money.

The program to supply the Russian Ground Forces with T-14s was initially planned to begin by 2020, but was extended to 2025 due to funding shortfalls, as well as logistics and technical problems. The Russian Army plans to order 2,300 T-14s.

TagsRussia, T-14 Armata, Rostec Corporation, Uralvagonzavod, Sergey Abamov, Russian Ground Forces