Russian BMPT fire support combat vehicle is nightmare for Ukrainian soldiers

In the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), fighting continues in the area of the village of Kremennaya, Anna-News Info reports. The Russian Armed Forces and the 2nd Army Corps of the LPR are trying to break through the positions of the Ukrainian army. During the hostilities, BMPT Terminator fire support combat vehicles are used to fight Ukrainian forces using their firepower consisting of a 30mm twin-cannon, four Ataka anti-tank guided missiles, one 7.62mm machine gun, and two 30mm automatic grenade launchers. 
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The first reports of the participation of BMPT Terminators in combat appeared in May 2022, some three months after the invasion of Ukraine by Russian armed forces (Picture source: Anna News)

A video with the use of Terminators appeared on social networks. A BMPT fires its automatic cannons at Ukrainian soldiers running to take refuge. It works in cooperation with main battle tanks and infantry. It is possible that the war in Ukraine is the first case of the full-fledged use of BMPTs. Previously, there were reports of its tests in Syria, but no detail is available. The first reports of the participation of the Terminator in battles appeared in May 2022, some three months after the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine by Russian armed forces.

Based on the Afghan experience, the first BMPT was developed and received the nickname “Terminator” at the beginning of the 21st century. In terms of firepower, according to experts, one “Terminator”, armed with cannons, rockets and machine guns, surpasses two motorized rifle platoons.

Thanks to its armament, the BMPT can be used to destroy different types of land targets such as infantry personnel carrying anti-tank weapons, as well as light and heavily armored targets, like tanks. The turret can be rotated at 360 ° with an elevation from -5° to +25° for the anti-tank missiles, and from -5° to +45° for the guns and coaxial machine gun. Thanks to these features, the BMPT can also engage top floors of buildings in urban environments and also low-flying aircraft or drones.

The BMPT Model 2017 is a Fire Support Combat Vehicle designed and manufactured by the Russian company Uralvagonzavod. The design of this vehicle was based on combat experience gained during the Soviet-Afghan war and the first Chechen war. The BMPT offers the mobility of a main battle tank (MBT) and the firepower of an IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle). It is the first vehicle in the BMPT family that entered into service with the Russian armed forces.

The BMPT was unveiled in 2017 during a Victory Day Military Parade held in Moscow. This version of the BMPT is based on the tracked chassis of the first version of the BMPT nicknamed Terminator 1 fitted with the turret of the BMPT-72 which was the second variant in the BMPT family. The vehicle is designed to provide fire support to tank and infantry units, using weapon systems capable to engage and destroy heavy and light armored vehicles as well as aerial targets, and fortifications. The first version of the BMPT was unveiled in 2009 during the Russian Expo Arms exhibition in Nizhny Tagil, Russia.

Armament

The BMPT Model 2017 is fitted with an unmanned turret weapon station. The three crew members are located at the front of the hull. The main armament of the turret consists of two 30mm 2A42 automatic cannons able to engage ground targets such as light armored vehicles at 1,500 m; soft-skinned targets can be engaged at up to 4,000 m. The cannons can be also used to destroy aerial targets flying at low altitudes of up to 3,000 m at subsonic speeds and up to a slant range of 2,500 m. The guns can fire a wide range of ammunitions such as APERS-T (Anti-Personnel ammunitions), HEF-I (High-explosive Fragmentation Incendiary), AP-T (Armor Piercing), and KE (Kinetic Energy).

Each side of the turret is equipped with two missile launchers that can fire the 9M12 Ataka anti-tank guided missile designed to defeat tanks with composite armor and explosive reactive armor. The missile has an operational range from 400 to 6,000 m. The second armament of the BMPT Model 2017 includes a PKT 7.62mm machine gun mounted in the upper part of the 30mm cannon and a 30 mm automatic grenade launcher mounted on each side at the front of the hull. A bank of five smoke-grenade dischargers is integrated in the hull, on each side of the top hull, close to the bottom of the turret.

BMPT Terminator (Picture source: Army Recognition)