PRUDBOI TESTING RANGE (Volgograd Region) November 22 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will develop artillery, missile defense and nuclear, biological and chemical defense systems using a uniform tank platform, Ground Forces chief Col. Gen. Vladimir Chirkin said on Thursday.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin earlier said new fighting vehicles, including a new generation tank, will be based on the Armata “universal combat platform,” a next-generation heavy military tracked vehicle platform.

The Armata platform is intended to be the basis for a main battle tank, a heavy infantry fighting vehicle, a combat engineering vehicle, an armored recovery vehicle, a heavy armored personnel carrier, a tank support combat vehicle and several types of self-propelled fighting vehicles.

“Next year, Armata prototypes will be shown at an exhibition in Nizhny Tagil,” the general said.

Oleg Siyenko, general director of the UralVagonZavod tank maker, said in August the Russian Armed Forces will receive a total of up to 2,300 such machines by 2020.