MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/. Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov branded UK-made Challenger tank as a "cooking pot unready for real combat."
"Our experts have examined the US-made Abrams tank and found nothing to borrow. I am curious to have a look at British Challenger, however it is clear it is a cooking pot unready for real combat. The main problem of most foreign vehicles is complicated design and labor intensive maintenance. The Ukrainian example shows the result," he told the Razvedchik (Scout) magazine.
Russian designers also studied German-made Leopard tank and found no breakthrough solutions to borrow.
"We study all trophies. If we find anything useful, we borrow it. Sometimes we see it is good vehicle, but it cannot be engaged in our conditions. Thus, the German Leopard has modern components, fire controls, a powerful engine but with strange temperature restrictions. We did not see any breakthrough solutions and have nothing to borrow from Leopard for ourselves," Chemezov said.
The UK gave Ukraine 14 Challenger 2 tanks that were engaged and destroyed by Russia in the Kursk region.