BMP development

The BMP series were among the first production line

infantry fighting vehicles. Included in the series are the
mainline BMPs, the airborne variant BMDs, and
licensed modified (i.e. MLI-84) and reverse engineered
versions (i.e. Boragh, Type 86). BMP stands for
Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty (Russian: Боевая Машина
Пехоты), meaning "infantry fighting vehicle".[1] They
were initially developed in the 1960s in the Soviet
Union.

Background BMP-1

World War II began with the concepts of armored

warfare relatively undeveloped, particularly the use of combined
arms teams. Tank and infantry units were often organized as
separate units, which led to problems of command and
coordination.

As the war progressed the doctrine of combined arms became

better refined, and the need for specialist vehicles to keep the
infantry in close contact with the armor became increasingly
important. Most of these vehicles were half-tracks. There were
expedient measures; the infantry of the Red Army often rode on
the top of tanks. In 1944 the Canadians introduced the practice
of converting self-propelled guns and tanks to carry infantry -
known as "Kangaroos". The Kangaroo pointed the way
forward, offering much better armor than half-tracks and able to Priest Kangaroo armored personnel
keep up with the tanks on any terrain. carrier, 1945.

In the post-war era most armies started introducing fully tracked

vehicles in the dedicated armored personnel carrier role, including the Soviet BTR-50, British FV432, and
the US M113. These vehicles generally suffered in terms of range and speed, and many forces also adopted
wheeled vehicles in addition to, or instead of the tracked versions. In general, these vehicles offered limited
protection and were not expected to join in the actual fighting; they would keep the infantry in close
proximity with the armor during movement, but upon enemy contact they would unload their infantry before
retreating to safer areas - a practice that led to them being called "battlefield taxis" or "battle-taxis". The
German Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30 was an exception as it carried a 20mm cannon for support of its
infantry and against light vehicles.

During the 1950s this mode of combat was increasingly questioned. Unloading the infantry onto a battlefield
that was assumed to be littered with chemical and nuclear poisons did not seem like a good idea. Further,
while the APCs moved to and from combat the infantry section in the back had nothing to do, a
claustrophobic environment where the men could not add to the fight. Military theorists turned to the concept
of the infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), similar to the APC but with the expectation that the infantry section
would be able to stay in the vehicle and fight effectively, while also improving the vehicles own armament.
The Soviets were the second to adapt to this new style of fully mechanized combat, issuing requirements and
then introducing the BMP in mid-1960s, following after the more limited scale Western German
Panzergrenadier deployment of the HS.30.

Requirements
The requirement for the BMP was first drawn up in the late 1950s. The requirement stressed speed, good
armament, and the ability for all squad members to fire from within the vehicle. The armament had to provide
direct support for dismounted infantry in the attack and defense and to be able to destroy comparable light
armored vehicles such as the American M59 APC or the West German HS.30 IFV.[2]

The armor was required to protect the crew and passengers from light shell fragments as well as .50 cal
armor-piercing bullets and 20–23 mm caliber autocannons across the frontal arc at distances between 500 m
and 800 m (the distance of infantrymen dismounting onto the battlefield during an attack). Side armor should
be capable of withstanding 7.62 mm armor-piercing bullets from a distance of 75 m. The requirements also
included an NBC protection system, observation devices similar to those used in MBTs and a radio capable
of communicating with unit commanders and tanks.

The original specification called for the vehicle to be armed with a 23 millimetres (0.91 in) autocannon,[2]
however an innovative combination of the 73 mm 2A28 Grom low pressure smoothbore semi-automatic gun
firing rocket-assisted projectiles and the newly developed 9S428 anti tank wire guided missile (ATGM)
launcher for the selected 9M14 "Malyutka" (AT-3A Sagger A) ATGMs was used instead. The gun was
intended to engage enemy armored vehicles and firing points at a range of up to 1,300 metres (1,400 yd),
while the missile launcher was intended to be used against targets that were 500 metres (550 yd) to 3,000
metres (3,300 yd) away. The smoothbore gun and the ATGM launching system were to be mounted in a
compact one-man turret from the Tula Instrument Engineering Design Bureau (KBP).

Prototypes
The requirements were issued to the various design bureaus between 1959 and 1960. There was a question as
to whether the BMP should be tracked or wheeled, so a number of experimental configurations were
explored including hybrid wheeled/tracked designs. The prototypes (designated as "objects" according to
Soviet classification) were:

Ob'yekt 1200 from Bryansk Automobile Works (BAZ), 1964 - an 8-wheeled design, similar to
the BTR-60PB APC. Like the said APC, the Ob'yekt 1200 prototype had a rear engine design
which counted against it. It was eliminated because its cross-country ability (especially in
snow and deep mud) was similarly mediocre to the said APC due to the overweight of the 8 x
8 chassis.
Ob'yekt 911 from the Volgograd Tractor Works (VTZ), chief designer I. V. Gavalov, 1964 - was
a hybrid tracked design, with 4 additional retractable wheels for high speed road travel. The
complex design was felt to offer no advantages.
Ob'yekt 914 from the Volgograd Tractor Factory (VTZ), chief designer I. V. Gavalov, 1964 -
was a tracked design and a variant of Ob'yekt 911. Based on the PT-76 amphibious light tank
chassis with a similar armament to other BMP prototypes (except the Ob'yekt 914 was also
armed with two 7.62 mm PKT machine guns mounted in the hull on both sides of the driver). It
weighed 14.4 tonnes, had a crew of two and could transport up to eight fully equipped soldiers
(two of whom operated the PKT machine guns). The rear engine design counted against it,
forcing infantry to mount and dismount through the single door in the rear of the right hand side
of the vehicle and roof hatches. It was also felt that the Ob'yekt 764 had a better layout. Work
on the experimental Ob'yekt 914 helped a lot in the following layout development of the BMD-
1 (Ob'yekt 915) airborne infantry fighting vehicle.
 Ob'yekt 19 from the Altai Tractor Plant in Rubtsovsk, 1965 - was a 4 x 4 wheeled design with
retractable tracks between the wheel axles which were intended for crossing rough ground.
Once again the very complicated hybrid design was felt to offer no clear advantage over a
tracked design.
Ob'yekt 764 from the Chelyabinsk Tractor Works (ChTZ); chief designer P. P. Isakov, 1964-
1965 - the main prototype of the BMP was equipped with a waterjet for swimming (the waterjet
was later removed to save interior space). After it passed the trials, it was improved and
became the BMP-1 (Ob'yekt 765).

During this time, the United States had successfully introduced the M113 armored personnel carrier in the
Vietnam War in 1962. Though not designed as a combat vehicle, its light armor and mobility was effective
against most small arms employed by the Viet Cong forces. It had been adapted into an infantry fighting
vehicle with the fitting of an open turret and gun shields. Unlike the BMP, it lacked the firepower and armor
to defeat and survive against other armored combat vehicles. After the appearance of the BMP, the US
responded with a series of infantry fighting vehicle designs, starting with the MICV-65, although nothing
entered service until the M-2 Bradley appeared during the early 1980s.

Ob'yekt 765
The tracked Ob'yekt 764 was chosen, after a few improvements,
because its front engine design provided a convenient and fast way of
mounting and dismounting through two rear doors. As a result of its
rather weak armor, the BMP was relatively light and required little
preparation for amphibious operations.

The original production prototype, which was built in 1965, was

designated BMP.[3] Small-scale production began in 1966 at
Chelyabinsk to permit field trials, although the Kurgan Machine Three views of the BMP-1 (Ob'yekt
Building Plant (KMZ) was converted to BMP production as 765Sp1) graphic.
Chelyabinsk was committed to tank production. A number of defects
were corrected between 1966 and 1970 resulting in four slightly
different production design variants of the first models. (Ob'yekt 765Sp1 and Ob'yekt 765Sp2). The key
changes made to the design were:

The suspension was strengthened to cope with high speeds.

A new chemical filter system was fitted on the left hand side of the turret in addition to the
already existing radiological protection system.
The openly mounted air filtration system was moved from the left hand side of the hull to a
separate compartment inside the vehicle behind the commander's station.
The fume extractors for the firing ports were moved to eject the fumes to the rear of the vehicle.
The trim board was modified.
The new air intake was fitted with a low snorkel to prevent water flooding the vehicle while
swimming.
The fender profile was modified.
The detachable hatch cover over the engine compartment was replaced with a hinged cover.
The Commander's hatch was fitted with a torsion bar, the troop hatches were fitted with key
locks.
The tool stowage boxes on the fenders were removed.
Firing ports (one on each side) were provided for the squad's PKM general purpose machine
gun.
 The 9S428 ATGM launcher was improved to fire 9M14M 'Malyutka-M' (AT-3B Sagger B)
ATGMs.
The nose section of the hull was modified and extended by 250 mm to shift the center of
gravity to prevent the nose section from being too heavy, it could often cause "submarining"
when swimming. The height of the hull was slightly increased for the same purpose.

Further improvements included a new 1PN22M2 sight, turn signals, and many smaller details, (for example,
mounting the trim vane on six hinges instead of two, improved hermetic sealing of the commander's hatch,
new construction of the gunner's seat, etc.). All those changes resulted in the combat weight increasing from
13.0 tonnes to 13.2 tonnes. Series production of the final production model, the Ob'yekt 765Sp3 (NATO:
BMP-1 Model 1970), began at the Kurgan Engineering Works in 1973.

Models
A large number of variants of the BMP-1 were produced. The most notable IFV variants based on the BMP-
1 were: BMP-2, MLI-84 and Boragh.

Table of models

Characteristics of the main models of the BMP series

BMP-1 BMP-1 BMP-1 BMP-1P
(ob'yekt (ob'yekt (ob'yekt (ob'yekt BMP-1D BMP-2 BMP-3
765Sp1) 765Sp2) 765Sp3) 765Sp4/5)

Weight 12.6 13.0 13.2 13.4 14.5 14.0 18.7

(tonnes)

Crew 3+8 3+7

Main gun 73 mm 2A28 "Grom" low pressure smoothbore semi-automatic gun 30 mm 100 mm
2A42 2A70 rifled
autocannon automatic
gun/missile-
launcher
30 mm
2A72
autocannon

Machine 7.62 mm PKT coaxial 3×

gun(s) 7.62 mm
PKT
(1 coaxial,
2 bow
mounted)

ATGM 9M14 "Malyutka" 9M113 "Konkurs" 9M14 "Malyutka" 9M113 9M117

(NATO (AT-3 Sagger) (AT-5 Spandrel) or "Konkurs" "Bastion"
designation) and variants or 9M113 "Konkurs" (AT-5 (AT-10
9M111 "Fagot" or Spandrel) Stabber)
(AT-4 Spigot) removed (on or
and variants most vehicles)[4] 9M111
"Fagot"
(AT-4
Spigot)
and
variants
Engine UTD-20 6-cylinder 4-stroke V-shaped UTD-20S1 UTD-29M
airless-injection water cooled diesel diesel 10-cylinder
developing 300 hp (224 kW) at 2,600 rpm developing diesel
300 hp developing
(224 kW) 500 hp
at 2,600 (375 kW)
rpm at 2,600
rpm

Power-to- 23.8 23.1 22.7 22.4 20.7 21.4 26.7

weight ratio (17.8) (17.2) (17.0) (16.7) (15.5) (16.0) (20.0)
hp/tonne
(kW/tonne)

BMP-2
Although the BMP-1 was a revolutionary design, its main armament, the 2A28 Grom and the 9S428 ATGM
launcher capable of firing the 9M14 Malyutka (NATO: AT-3A Sagger A) and the 9M14M Malyutka-M
(NATO: AT-3B Sagger B) ATGMs, quickly became obsolete. Therefore, the Soviet Union decided to
produce an updated and improved version of the BMP-1. The main emphasis was put on improving the main
armament. In 1972 work got underway to develop an improved version of the BMP-1. An experimental
prototype, the Ob'yekt 680 was produced. Ob'yekt 680 had a new two-man turret armed with a Shipunov
2A42 30 mm autocannon and a secondary 7.62 mm machine gun mounted in a barbette similar to the Marder.

The BMP-1 was to be tested in combat in the October 1973 Yom Kippur War. Egypt received 230 BMP-1s
in 1973. Syria had received between 150 and 170 by the start of the war, of which about 100 were committed
to the front line. Israeli forces captured or destroyed 40 to 60 Egyptian BMPs and 50 to 60 Syrian BMPs,
mechanical problems accounting for a large number of the Syrian losses.

The BMP proved vulnerable to .50 caliber machinegun fire in the sides and rear, and to infantry-based
106 mm recoilless rifles. The need to keep some of the roof hatches open to prevent the vehicle from
overheating meant that the vehicle could be disabled by machinegun fire from infantry on higher ground
shooting into open hatches. The 73 mm gun proved inaccurate beyond 500 meters, and the AT-3 Sagger
missile could not be guided effectively from the confines of the turret. The BMP-1's low profile means that it
was difficult for the BMP to fire over the heads of the advancing infantry it was supporting.

On the positive side, the vehicle was praised for being fast and agile. Its low ground pressure enabled it to
navigate the northern Kantara salt marshes where other vehicles would have bogged down. Its ability to swim
proved useful: it was used in the first wave of canal crossings by the Egyptians.

Several Soviet technical teams were sent to Syria in the wake of the war to gather information. These lessons
combined with observations of western AFV developments resulting in a replacement program for the
original BMP in 1974.

The first product of this program was the BMP-1P upgrade intended as a stopgap to address the most serious
problems with the existing design. Smoke grenade launchers were added to the rear of the turret and the
manually guided AT-3 Sagger missile system was replaced with the semi-automatically guided AT-4 Spigot
and AT-5 Spandrel system. The new missiles were somewhat difficult to use since the gunner had to actually
stand out on the roof to use the weapons, exposing himself to hostile fire. The BMP-1P was in production by
the late 1970s and existing BMP-1s were gradually upgraded to the standard during the 1980s.

A development program to completely address the shortcomings of the BMP was started at the same time
resulting in four prototypes, all of which had two-man turrets.

Ob'yekt 675 from Kurgan - BMP-1 hull, armed with a 2A42 30 mm autocannon. This
eventually became the BMP-2.
Ob'yekt 681 from Kurgan - BMP-1 hull, armed with a lengthened 73 mm gun.
Ob'yekt 768 from Chelyabinsk - Lengthened hull with 7 road wheels and armed with a
lengthened 73 mm gun.
Ob'yekt 769 from Chelyabinsk - Lengthened hull with 7 road wheels and armed with a 2A42
30 mm autocannon.

The commander was moved inside the turret on all of the prototypes because of the dead zone created by the
infra-red searchlight when he was seated in the hull, additionally the commanders view to the rear was
blocked by the turret. The new two-man turret took up much more space in the hull than the original one-man
turret resulting in a smaller crew area. A lengthened version of the original 73 mm gun was considered, but
after some debate the 30 mm gun was selected for the following reasons:

It offered higher maximum elevation - a critical factor in Afghanistan, where the limited
elevation of the gun caused problems.
The high-velocity gun had better maximum range (2000–4000 meters) that would allow the
BMPs to support the tanks spearheading any assault.
It also offered a useful anti-helicopter capability.
 The 73 mm gun had been mounted on the older BMP-1 to retain anti-tank capability as a basic
doctrine design specification. With the introduction of Chobham armour on NATO tanks, the
73 mm gun became ineffectual and obsolete, and given a lack of a suitable gun design as a
replacement in this role at the time, a 30 mm gun was introduced as a replacement, notably
with an anti-helicopter role as a new threat emergent since the Vietnam War. (Perrett 1987:77)
The anti-tank capability was however retained in the BMP-2 with the continued use of anti-
tank guided missiles. The new vehicles now allowed the gunner to fire 9K111 Fagot (AT-4)
and 9M113 Konkurs (AT-5) missiles from within the protection of the turret.

Eventually the Ob'yekt 675 was selected to become the BMP-2, probably because a new hull design would
have required extensive retooling at BMP production plants.

BMP-3
The design of the BMP-3 or Obyekt 688M can be traced back to the Obyekt 685 light tank prototype with
100 mm gun 2A48-1 from 1975. This vehicle did not enter series production, but the chassis, with a new
engine, was used for the next-generation infantry combat vehicle Obyekt 688[5] from A. Blagonravov's
design bureau. The Ob. 688 weapons configuration—an externally mounted 30 mm gun and twin Konkurs
ATGM launcher—was rejected; instead the new 2K23 armament system was selected. The resulting BMP-3
was developed in the early 1980s and entered service with the Soviet Army officially in 1987. At the moment
the BMP-3 is the most modern, in service, tank of the BMP series while it is supposed to be replaced by the
BMP T-15 Armata which is currently in the prototype stage.

See also
MICV-65
BMP-23
M2 Bradley
BTR-50
BTR-60

References
1. "Soderzhaniye" (https://web.archive.org/web/20080227010804/http://www.milparade.com/Sod
erzhaniye.pdf) (PDF). Military Parade. Archived from the original (http://www.milparade.com/S
oderzhaniye.pdf) (PDF) on 2008-02-27.
2. Hull/Markov/Zaloga, p. 239
3. "BMP-1" (https://web.archive.org/web/20071029035803/http://www.militarium.net/wojska_lado
we/bmp_1.php). Militarium.net 2. Archived from the original (http://www.militarium.net/wojska_l
adowe/bmp_1.php) on 2007-10-29.
4. БМП-1Д (http://otvaga2004.narod.ru/otvaga2004/armour-rus-bmp1/a_bmp1d.htm) Archived (ht
tps://web.archive.org/web/20120210053448/http://otvaga2004.narod.ru/otvaga2004/armour-ru
s-bmp1/a_bmp1d.htm) 2012-02-10 at the Wayback Machine
5. "Ob'yekt 688" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120217132751/http://www.otvaga2004.narod.ru/
otvaga2004/armour-rus-obj/a_688.htm). Archived from the original (http://www.otvaga2004.nar
od.ru/otvaga2004/armour-rus-obj/a_688.htm) on 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2009-08-05.

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