The BMPT (Russian: Боевая машина поддержки танков, Boyevaya Mashina Podderzhki Tankov, "Tank Support Fighting Vehicle") is a new Russian armored vehicle designed to support tank and infantry operations, primarily in urban areas.
This vehicle is sometimes nicknamed the "Terminator".[2] It was delivered to the Russian army beginning in 2005. The history of the vehicle can be traced back to the First Chechen War. Using conventional armors during urban engagements, Russian forces suffered heavy losses in manpower and equipment. While the losses cannot be blamed on technology, it became clear that a dedicated anti-personnel fighting vehicle would provide valuable assistance in an urban environment. Self-propelled anti-aircraft (AA) guns were pressed as a temporary solution in Chechnya. However, these vehicles are not well-armored nor possess the same obstacle-clearing capability as a main battle tank (MBT). Therefore it was envisioned that the new combat vehicle should be built on a tank chassis and offer the same or better protection as an MBT. The protection of the BMPT is superior to most MBTs, as active and passive protection is used, and additional armor (the vehicle lacks a manned turret), is distributed to the hull of the vehicle.
When used in urban terrain, the BMPT is employed on a 2 to 1 ratio, meaning 2 BMPTs protecting one MBT. In rural operations that ratio is reversed, i.e. one BMPT protecting 2 MBTs. This results from the complexity of fighting in urban terrain and the need for a versatile anti-personnel machine that can engage multiple targets at once and on different height levels. The introduction of such a vehicle makes urban fighting less stressful on tanks and can relieve them of some of the workload so that they can concentrate on their main objective of engaging other tanks and hardened targets.
The BMPT is based on the chassis of the well-known T-72 MBT which is used in large numbers by the Russian Army and has been manufactured under license by many other countries. The rear of the driver's compartment, at the front of the vehicle, has been raised, providing greater internal volume. A new mount is equipped with two 30 mm 2A42 dual-feed cannon with a cyclic rate of fire of up to 600 rds/min. A total of 900 rounds of ready use ammunition can be carried. The cannon can fire a wide range of ammunition types including: High Explosive - Tracer (HE-T), Armour-piercing discarding sabot (APDS), High Explosive Fragmentation (HE-FRAG) and Armor-Piercing - Tracer (AP-T). A 7.62 mm machine gun is mounted coaxially with the main armament. A total of four launchers for the Ataka-T anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) which can fire various types of warhead, are mounted on either side of the main armament. These include a tandem HEAT warhead to defeat targets fitted with explosive reactive armour. To enable targets to be engaged under day and night conditions when the BMPT is stationary or moving, a computerized fire-control system is fitted. It uses proven elements from those fitted to the T-90S series MBT.[3]T-72 tanks can be upgraded to BMPT .[4]
This vehicle is sometimes nicknamed the "Terminator".[2] It was delivered to the Russian army beginning in 2005. The history of the vehicle can be traced back to the First Chechen War. Using conventional armors during urban engagements, Russian forces suffered heavy losses in manpower and equipment. While the losses cannot be blamed on technology, it became clear that a dedicated anti-personnel fighting vehicle would provide valuable assistance in an urban environment. Self-propelled anti-aircraft (AA) guns were pressed as a temporary solution in Chechnya. However, these vehicles are not well-armored nor possess the same obstacle-clearing capability as a main battle tank (MBT). Therefore it was envisioned that the new combat vehicle should be built on a tank chassis and offer the same or better protection as an MBT. The protection of the BMPT is superior to most MBTs, as active and passive protection is used, and additional armor (the vehicle lacks a manned turret), is distributed to the hull of the vehicle.
When used in urban terrain, the BMPT is employed on a 2 to 1 ratio, meaning 2 BMPTs protecting one MBT. In rural operations that ratio is reversed, i.e. one BMPT protecting 2 MBTs. This results from the complexity of fighting in urban terrain and the need for a versatile anti-personnel machine that can engage multiple targets at once and on different height levels. The introduction of such a vehicle makes urban fighting less stressful on tanks and can relieve them of some of the workload so that they can concentrate on their main objective of engaging other tanks and hardened targets.
The BMPT is based on the chassis of the well-known T-72 MBT which is used in large numbers by the Russian Army and has been manufactured under license by many other countries. The rear of the driver's compartment, at the front of the vehicle, has been raised, providing greater internal volume. A new mount is equipped with two 30 mm 2A42 dual-feed cannon with a cyclic rate of fire of up to 600 rds/min. A total of 900 rounds of ready use ammunition can be carried. The cannon can fire a wide range of ammunition types including: High Explosive - Tracer (HE-T), Armour-piercing discarding sabot (APDS), High Explosive Fragmentation (HE-FRAG) and Armor-Piercing - Tracer (AP-T). A 7.62 mm machine gun is mounted coaxially with the main armament. A total of four launchers for the Ataka-T anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) which can fire various types of warhead, are mounted on either side of the main armament. These include a tandem HEAT warhead to defeat targets fitted with explosive reactive armour. To enable targets to be engaged under day and night conditions when the BMPT is stationary or moving, a computerized fire-control system is fitted. It uses proven elements from those fitted to the T-90S series MBT.[3]T-72 tanks can be upgraded to BMPT .[4]
