Armata MBT much cheaper than expected...

Thanks to Slowman for the link!

via Moscow Times...

Russia's new Armata T-14 tank will cost a mere 250 million rubles ($3.75 million) when it enters serial production, the head of the vehicle's manufacturer said Tuesday, putting the battle tank in strong position to compete with U.S. and European rivals on the global export market.
The Armata T-14 is Russia's first new main battle tank since the fall of the Soviet Union. Its design is a departure from Soviet models, focusing on heavier armor and crew survivability. Soviet tanks were designed largely as mass-produced throwaways.
The official cost of a single Armata has not been released, but Oleg Sienko, head of tank maker UralVagonZavod, said in an interview with the Ekho Moskvy radio station on Tuesday that it would be two times less than the popularly reported 500 million ruble ($7.5 million) price tag circulated by Russian and international media.
Competitors to the Armata, such as the German Leopard 2, the U.S. M1 Abrams, and the British Challenger 2 are estimated to cost anywhere from $6.8 to $8.6 million, news agency RBC reported Tuesday. China's Type 99 main battle tank, however, is estimated to cost a mere $2.6 million.
The low dollar price tag of the Armata — which its makers claim is the most advanced tank in the world — is largely thanks to a 50 percent fall in the value of the ruble to the greenback since the start of 2014.
But while the weak ruble may help, Russia's larger economic slump may make it harder for UralVagonZavod to achieve a low price per unit.

Geez.

If you want to be even close to informed on military procurement then at least a minor in Economics seems to be in order.

Someone explain this to me.  A strong dollar vs a weak ruble is helping to lower the cost of the tank.  But the larger economic slump may make it harder for them to achieve a low price per unit?