Russian BMPT Terminator fire support vehicle starts fighting in Ukraine


According to a picture released on Russian social networks, the Russian army starts the deployment of its BMPT Terminator tracked armored fire support vehicle, one of the most armed vehicles in the world. This combat vehicle was designed to offer fire support to main battle tanks.
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Russian army BMPT Terminator fire support tracked armored vehicle spotted in the Luhansk People's Republic. (Picture source Rusian Facebook VK)


A picture was released on the Russian Facebook "VK" showing a BMPT Terminator fire support tracked armored vehicle deployed in the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). Citing information from a Russian source, apparently, their "debut" took place during the combat operations of Severodonetsk.

The BMPT nicknamed Terminator is a tank fire support armored tracked vehicle designed and manufactured by the Russian company Uralvagonzavod. This vehicle was designed for supporting tanks and other combat vehicles in urban areas.

The BMPT is built on the chassis of the widely-used T-72 main battle tank. It was designed based on combat experience gained during the Soviet-Afghan War and the First Chechen War. The first version of the BMPT was unveiled in 2009 during the Russian Expo Arms exhibition in Nizhny Tagil, Russia. In 2017, a new version of the BMPT was in 2017 using the same tracked chassis but fitted with the weapon station of the BMPT-72.

The main armament of the BMP-T is composed of a weapon station, which is mounted on the top of the hull that is armed with two 30 mm 2A42 cannons and one 7.62 mm PKTM machine gun mounted above the cannons. Fitted on either side of the turret are two missile launchers for the Ataka anti-tank guided weapon. These missiles have a maximum range of 5,800 m and can be fitted with various types of warheads including tandem high explosive anti-tank, thermobaric and continuous rod high explosive.

The BMP-T has a crew of five with the driver seated at the front of the vehicle in the center. To the left and right of the driver's position is a seat for the 30 mm grenade operator and the commander and gunner are located in the turret. The protection of the BMPT is superior to most MBTs, as active and passive protection is used, and additional armor (the vehicle lacks a turret), is distributed to the hull of the vehicle.

The power pack of the BMPT, mounted at the rear, consists of a B92C2 four-stroke multifuel diesel with liquid cooling and supercharging, which develops 1,000 hp, and gives the vehicle a power-to-weight ratio of 21.2 hp/tonne. It can run at a maximum road speed of 60 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 550 km.