BMPT Model 2017

Fire Support Combat Vehicle on tracked armored chassis - Russia

The BMPT Model 2017 is a Fire Support Combat Vehicle designed and manufactured by the Russian company Uralvagonzavod. The design of this new vehicle was based on combat experience gained during the Soviet-Afghan War and the First Chechen War. The BMPT offers the mobility of the 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. It was unveiled in 2017 during the Victory Day Military Parade that was held on Red Square. 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. The BMPT Model 2017 was officially deployed for the first time during the Russian – Ukraine War that started on February 24, 2022. On February 9, 2023, a video was released on Social Networks showing the destruction by the Ukrainian artillery unit of the first BMPT of the Russian army deployed in Ukraine. 

BMPT Fire Support Combat Vehicle variants:

- BMPT Terminator 1: First version of the BMPT Terminator that was presented for the first time to the public in 2008 during the Russian Expo Arms exhibition in Nizhny Tagil, Russia.
- BMPT-72 Terminator 2: The second version of the BMPT is fitted with a new turret and features a new hull design. It was unveiled in 2013 during the Russian Arms Expo defense exhibition that was held in Nizhny Tagil, Russia.

Armament

The BMPT Model 2017 is fitted with an unmanned turret weapon station, in fact, 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 while soft-skinned targets can be engaged out 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 one PKT 7.62mm located in the upper part of the 30mm cannon and one 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.

Close-view of the BMPT Model 2017 turret

Design and protection

The BMPT Model 2017 has a very unique design, with the crew seated in the hull including five people with the driver located in the middle at the front of the hull, two other crew members are seated on each side of the driver position, and the other two crew members are located at the front of the bottom part of the turret including the commander on the left and the gunner on the right side. The remotely operated turret is mounted in the middle on the top of the hull while the engine is located at the rear of the hull. It uses the hull and suspension design of the T-90 tank. The vehicle is protected with standard steel armor as well as explosive reactive armor (ERA) on the turret front, a detachable ERA module on the glacis plate, and appliqué ERA on the sides of the hull, and turret. The rear part of the hull is protected by wire cage armor.

Close view of the five crew members' position

Mobility

The BMPT model 2017 is motorized with a V-92S2 diesel, four-stroke 12-cylinder, multi, supercharged diesel engine developing 1,000 hp at 2,000 rpm coupled to a manual transmission with seven gears for forward and one gear for reverse. The vehicle is also fitted with a 5kW diesel generator to allow the operations of onboard electrical equipment during the shutdown of the main engine. It can run at a maximum road speed of 65 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 550 km. It can negotiate a gradient of 60 % and a slope of 40%. It can climb vertical obstacles of 0.85 m. It can cross a trench of 2.8 m and has a fording depth capability of 1.2 m without preparation and 1.8 m with five minutes of preparation. A snorkel kit is also available to cross rivers up to five meters in depth. The torsion bar suspension consists on either side of six road wheels with an idler at the front and a drive sprocket at the rear. Three return rollers support the inside of the track. The exhaust is located at the rear left side of the hull which is protected by wire cage armor. The upper part of the suspension is protected by armor plates.

The sides of hull and the suspension are protected with armor plates

Accessories

Standard equipment of the BMPT model 2017 includes day and night vision systems, a computerized fire control system, a laser range finder, GPS/GLONASS navigation system, and NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical) protection system. The driver is equipped with a single-day vision periscope which can be replaced by a night vision system. The two hatches at the front of the hull are equipped with an Arat-MP day/night sight. The commander is equipped with a panoramic sight mounted at the rear of the turret roof, offering a 360° view with an optical, low-level laser rangefinder and television channels. The gunner is equipped with B07-K2 sight including optical and thermal channels and a laser rangefinder. Both can detect ground and aerial targets using their own sight. The BMPT also has hunter-killer capabilities in order to allow the gunner and commander to track and acquire two separate targets at the same time. The gunner is able to use the commander's sight to engage targets if his own sight is disabled or destroyed. The commander of the vehicle also has the ability to override the command to take control of the turret and guns from the gunner.

The panoramic sight of the tank commander is mounted on the turret roof offering 360° view