BMPT Terminator, Lack of Support

For any weapon system, a good concept and advanced technical specs, even relatively affordable price are not enough. There is still one ‘X’ factor that can be an obstacle, which is political support from its own country.

The harsh statement, said by the Russian Minister of Defense, last year has caused many people feel upset in weapon industry and weapon system manufacturing in Russia; especially in combat vehicle industry. If its own country refuses to use it, then how can it be successfully exported? The vehicle mentioned by Popovkin is BMPT (Boyevaya Mashina Podderzhki Tankov) or Tank Support Fighting Vehicle. Though a number of BMPT has been received by the Russian Army, Popovkin threatened to stop purchasing if the manufacturer did not increase its production quality.

The production of Urals Transport Machinery Design Bureau Federal State Unitary Enterprise and Uralvagonzavod Production Association State Unitary Enterprise can be considered as a new concept in combat vehicle. The concept is main battle tank supporting combat vehicle using MBT base chassis, to make its mobility and protection on the same level with MBT.

BMPT is used to support MBT in urban warfare. The bitter experience when the Russian MBT and conventional combat vehicles were wiped out by Chechen guerillas was the main reason for its design. At first, the manufacturer proposed BMPT concept using T-72 chassis. However recently, Uralvagonzavod proposed an upgraded concept by using T-90 concept.

Asymmetrical opponent that became MBT’s scourge can be beaten using heavy weapon combination of BMPT. Even though the doctrine or the deployment remains unclear, yet it has been planned that BMPT would be operated side by side next to MBT; with 2 BMPT accompanying 1 MBT.

Rather than placing cannon such as MBT, BMPT dome is filled with many weapons suitable for urban fighting. Weapons such as PKT machine gun with 7.62 mm caliber with magazine consists of 2000 rounds, along with a pair of 2A42 30 mm caliber cannon with ammunition choice such as HE-T, APDS, HE-FRAG, or AP-T rounds with 900 rounds. There are still 2 automatic grenade launchers AGS-17D or AGS-30 operated by remote control from inside the vehicle.

There is also Ataka 9M120 missile launcher with 4 missiles capacity, with alternate HEAT, HE-FRAG or thermobaric warhead. The last warhead mentioned is the most effective one for targeting building. In a clearingmine operation, the front part of BMPT can be equipped with KMT-8-mine plow.

We do not know exactly, whether the critic of the Russian senior officer was indeed described the decrease in quality or merely bluffed so that the manufacturer decreased the price. One thing for sure, BMPT has not found another potential buyer outside the Russian market; despite the fact that the early production variant of the combat vehicle nicknamed “Terminator” has been operated by Russian Army since a few years ago.

BMPT in the Russian Expo Arms 2009 at Nizhny Tagil

BMPT “Terminator” Specifications

• Main Contractor
Uralvagonzavod, Russia
• Operational
Around 2005
• Dimension
Length 7 m; width 3.5 m; height 2.1 m
• Battle Weight
± 4.7 ton
• Engine
V-92S2 diesel with 1000 hp
• Speed
± 65 km/h in highway
• Distance
± 550 km (using standard operational mode)
• Crews
5 (commander, driver, 3 gunners)
• Weapon System
1x PKT 7.62 caliber machine gun with 2000 rounds magazine capacity; 1x 30 mm caliber twin barreled 2A42 with 900 rounds magazine capacity; 2x AGS-17A/D or AGS-30 automatic grenade launcher with 600 rounds; 4x 9M120 Ataka anti-tank missiles with a single launcher with double torches
• Protection
Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) in front and side; rilled shields at the rear; composite steel on chassis; nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) protection system; 81 mm smoke grenade launcher.