Rare Yugoslav-Era BOV Armored Personnel Carrier Destroyed for First Time in Kursk Region.

A video surfaced on social media during the week of August 20, 2024, showing a BOV wheeled vehicle engulfed in flames while driving on an asphalt road. As it moved, a large burning fragment fell off the vehicle. Only one soldier managed to escape from the armored personnel carrier, which can carry up to ten people. According to reports, the BOV was precisely hit by a Russian kamikaze drone. In mid-June of this year, the Ukrainian Armed Forces received a batch of 26 two-axle infantry delivery vehicles from Slovenia.
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BOV armored personel carrier buring afer a Russian FPV strike  (Picture source: VK )

The BOV (Borbeno Oklepno Vozilo) is an armored personnel carrier from Slovenia, primarily used by the Slovenian armed forces and other countries of the former Yugoslavia. Designed in the 1980s, the BOV is a wheeled, lightweight, and versatile vehicle used for various missions, including troop transport, reconnaissance, and as a weapons platform. Its modular design allows for different configurations, such as anti-aircraft or anti-tank versions. It has light armor, providing basic protection against small arms and shrapnel, and can be armed with machine guns or grenade launchers.

The BOV is valued for its mobility and ability to operate in various environments. It has been used in various conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and remains an important part of Slovenia's military equipment, although it is gradually being replaced by more modern vehicles.

The serial production of such equipment began in the Slovenian city of Maribor at the TAM plant in 1977. There are eight versions in total, including one with a triple-barreled 20 mm M-55A4V1 automatic cannon. The firing range against ground targets reaches 2,000 meters, and against aerial targets, 1,500 meters. Six of these units were transferred. Weighing 9,100 kg in combat order, the hull has eight-millimeter-thick armor. The crew consists of two people, and the troop compartment can accommodate eight infantrymen. The diesel engine was produced under a German license. It has a power of 150 horsepower, with a maximum speed of 95 kilometers per hour on the highway. The 220 liters of fuel onboard allow for a range of up to 500 kilometers.

Slovenia provided Ukraine with a total of 26 BOV armored vehicles. Among them, 20 are armed with 12.7 mm heavy machine guns, while 6 others were modified with 20 mm automatic cannons. In addition to these vehicles, Slovenia also delivered three M80A infantry fighting vehicles and two dozen Valuk wheeled armored personnel carriers, which are licensed versions of Austrian Pandur I armored personnel carriers, thirty-five Yugoslav-made M-80A infantry fighting vehicles, and 28 M55S tanks, modernized with Israeli assistance, were use during Koursk breakthrough. 

BOV of the croatian Special Operations Battalion, equipped with Browning M2 QBC, caliber 12,7 (Picture source :  wikimédia)