Russian MoD ramps delivery of BMP-2M Berezhok tracked IFVs Infantry Fighting Vehicles.

Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) is ramping up the deliveries of upgraded BMP-2M Berezhok tracked IFVs Infantry Fighting vehicles to the troops, according to the MoD’s officials. The BMP-2M infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) is an upgraded version of the BMP-2 IFV equipped with a Berezhok turret armed with a 30mm 2A42 automatic gun, a 7.62mm PKT coaxial machine gun, a 30mm AG-17 automatic grenade launcher and four launchers of 9M133 Kornet series anti-tank guided missiles.

BMP-2M with Berezhok weapon station armed with a 30mm 2A42 automatic gun, a 7.62mm PKT coaxial machine gun, a 30mm AG-17 automatic grenade launcher and four launchers of 9M133 Kornet series anti-tank guided missiles. (Picture source Army Recognition)

On April 26, 2020, the Russian MoD (Ministry of Defense) reported a planned delivery of 60 Berezhok-2M IFVs to the units of the Land Force (Sukhoputniye Voyska, SV). “The Land Force is set to receive more than 60 BMP-2M with the Berezhok combat module. The Berezhok station is the updated organic turret of the BMP-2, which carries a modernized armament suite. The upgraded combat module features a combined sight with an independent two-axis field-of-view stabilizer, a thermal imager, a laser rangefinder, and a control unit for anti-tank guided missiles [ATGMs],” the MoD said in a statement.

The BMP-2M Berezhok will augment more sophisticated BMP-3s and advanced armored fighting vehicles. In September 2017, the MoD and the Tula-based Instrument Design Bureau (KBP, a subsidiary of state corporation Rostec) signed a contract for the modernization of 540 BMP-2 IFVs and BMD-2 airborne infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) to the Berezhok/Bereg standard (Bereg is a variant of the Berezhok, which has been modified for the lighter BMD-2). The deliveries of the vehicles were launched in 2018-2019 and the Russian troops are now reported to have received some 30-40 BMP-2M Berezhok weapon systems.

The Berezhok is said to be a cost-effective update, which dramatically increases the firepower of the basic BMP-2 and leaves its protection almost untouched. According to KBP, the turret 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 higher hit probability.