Tanks, but no tanks.
A new high-tech Russian tank stalled during a military demonstration Thursday, prompting a futile effort to tow the T-14 Armata out of Moscow's Red Square.
Russian officials said they meant for that to happen.
"We wanted to show how an evacuation of a tank would take place," the parade announcer told Russia Today. "It was planned that the tank would stop.”
The event was a dress rehearsal ahead of a Victory Day parade on Saturday to commemorate the end of World War II.
Onlookers shared photos of the stalled tank on Twitter, showing a handful of officials gathered near the turret, pondering a cable strung between the tank and the vehicle intended to tow it:
The tow tank was unable to budge the stalled one: video of the event shows the active tank's treads slipping on the asphalt, unable to find purchase. Per the BBC, the "super tank" eventually left the square under its own power.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un had originally intended to travel to Moscow for Saturday's parade but suddenly canceled last Thursday citing "internal Korean affairs,” The Guardian reported.
When fully functional, the T-14 Armata tank is said to have a top speed of more than 50 miles per hour -- faster than an M1 Abrams, which the U.S. Army uses -- and has the potential to become "fully robotic." It's scheduled to enter service by 2016, reported Army Times.