According to information published on Social Network on February 9, 2023, a Ukrainian artillery unit destroyed the first Russian army BMPT fire support tracked armored vehicle. It seems that the vehicle has been destroyed by GPS-guided artillery ammunition.
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Ukrainian artillery destroyed the first BMPT fire support tracked armored vehicle deployed by the Russian army in Ukraine. (Picture source footage Social Network)
In October 20222, the United States announced the delivery of M982 Excalibur, a GPS- and inertial-guided munition capable of being used in close support situations within 75–150 meters of friendly troops or in situations where targets might be prohibitively close to civilians to attack with conventional unguided artillery fire.
The Ukrainian artillery units have already used the M982 Excalibur ammunition to target artillery howitzers and tanks with a high level of accuracy. With a circular error probable (CEP) of 4 m, the Excalibur ammunition offers greater precision compared to unguided artillery shells, which can deviate from the target by up to 150 m at a range of 24 km.
Another advantage, while much more expensive at $68,000 per shell compared to an $800 unguided M777 shell, it is less expensive than the $150,000 rocket used in US guided-missile systems like M142 HIMARS and M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System
The M982 Excalibur can be fired by all modern towed and self-propelled howitzers including the French CAESAR, the American M777 and M109A6, the Polish Krab, the German PzH 2000, and Swedish Archer howitzers which are now in service with the Ukrainian armed forces.
In Ukraine, the Russian army has deployed the BMPT Model 2017, which is the variant in service with the Russian army. The vehicle was unveiled in 2017 during the Victory Day Military Parade that was held on Red Square.
The BMPT is the most modern fire support armored vehicle in service with the Russian armed forces. The vehicle has amazing firepower including 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 vehicle is also fitted 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.
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 vehicle was primarily designed to provide fire support to tank and infantry units.
Russian army BMPT Model 2017 fire support tracked armored vehicle. (Picture source Vitaly Kuzmin)
