According to a picture published on the "Secretdifa3 Akram Kharief" Twitter account on July 3, 2022, Algeria has developed a new combat vehicle base on a Soviet-made T-62 MBT (Main Battle Tank) fitted with a BMP-2 IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) Berezhok turret, which is called BMPT-62.
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Algerian army BMPT-62 fire support vehicle based on T-62 MBT tracked chassis fitted with a BMP-2 Berezhok turret. Picture source Twitter Secretdifa3 Akram Kharief)
Citing information from the "Mena Defense" website, the BMPT-62 would have been developed by Algerian engineers from the BCL (Base Centrale Logistique - Logistical Department of the Algerian army). The Algerian army had a stock of several hundred Soviet-made T-62 MBTs (Main Batlle Tank) which were no longer in service. The idea of the BCL was to produce a vehicle similar to the Russian BMPT-72 which is also in service with the Algerian army.
On May 24, 2022, the Army Recognition editorial team reported that Algeria upgraded 360 BMP-2 Soviet-made tracked armored IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) to standard BMP-2M fitted with Berezhok turret armed with four Kornet anti-tank guided missiles.
The Algerian BMPT-62 would have been developed in collaboration with the Russian company KBP Tula which is the manufacturer of the Berezhok turret. The first pictures of the BMPT-62 were taken during the rehearsals for the Independence Day military parade and this new combat vehicle has already entered service with the Algerian army. According to the Military Balance 2021, the Algerian army has a total of 300 T-62 MTBs in its military inventory.
The design of the BMPT-62 is based on the tracked chassis of the Soviet-made T-62 tank which is fitted with a three-man turret armed with a 115 mm smoothbore two-axis stabilized gun fitted with a bore evacuator. For the BMPT-62, the original turret has been removed and replaced by a BMP-2 Berezhok.
The torsion bar suspension of the T-62 MBT consists of five dual rubber-tired road wheels with the drive sprocket at the rear and the idler at the front. A hydraulic shock-absorber is provided at the first and last road wheel stations. The T-62 is powered by a V-55-5 V-12 water-cooled diesel engine with an injection pump fuel system, pressure lubricated, developing 580 hp at 2,000 rpm coupled to a manual transmission with 5 forward and 1 reverse gears. It can run at a maximum road speed of 50 km/ with a maximum cruising range of 450 km.
According to the Russian defense industry, the turret Berezhok weighs up to 3,250 kg and carries a heavy armament suite integrating a Gryasev-Shipunov 2A42 30 mm automatic cannon, an AGS-30M 30 mm automatic grenade launcher, a Kalashnikov PKTM 7.62 mm coaxial general-purpose machinegun, and four ready-use Kornet-E-family (NATO reporting name: AT-14 Spriggan) ATGMs in two two-cell banks mounted on either side of the turret.
Compared to the baseline BMP-2, the Berezhok is equipped with a far better sensor suite. The turret has received an automatic target tracker and a ballistic computer. According to KBP, the module fires up to two missiles in salvo mode in order to score a higher hit probability.
