May 13, 2026

Of Course, Russian Weapons Are Best


Of Course, Russian Weapons Are Best
The world's best tank is Russian, according to Russians.  Russian Defence Ministry/TASS

It should come as no surprise that the Russian Center for Analysis of World Arms Trade (CAWAT) found Russian military weapons superior to their German counterparts. CAWAT touted experience from Russia’s War on Ukraine as proof of their findings.

While Deutsche Qualität has long been a comforting assurance that an item meets the most exacting of production standards, CAWAT’s analysis hoped to make potential arms buyers skeptical of German quality claims.

Aside from CAWAT’s other research projects for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense, and other military and technical complexes, how exactly did they come to the conclusion that Russian weapons are better?

Simple – by digging up the German Bundeswehr’s reports of supplies sent to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Then, an “impartial comparison” demonstrated that the Russian weapons are more reliable, easier to operate and maintain, and overall more balanced in their parameters.

To further drive the point home, captured weapons and vehicles from Western countries have been sent on publicity tours, while others are displayed at Moscow’s Victory Museum.

If CAWAT’s self-congratulatory notes on weapons were not enough of an ego boost, they also named the Russian T-90M as the world's most advanced tank. Development of the T-90 began under the Soviets, with the expectation that it would replace the tired T-72 (which hasn't quite happened yet).

Notably, Russia’s next-generation main battle tank, the T–14 Armata, has seen little production or deployment since its embarrassing 2015 unveiling. The costly units are sparingly deployed on the front lines in Ukraine, and claims circulate that there are just a dozen or fewer T-14s.​ They are considered high-quality in domestic reports, yet are too valuable to use in combat.

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