The Ukrainian armed forces 'inherited' more than 2,500 BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles from the Soviet army as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Ukraine Sold Upgraded Fighting Vehicles To Georgia. Russia Captured Them—And Sent Them To Fight Ukraine
Pre-war, the Kremlin was sitting on huge stocks of surplus BMP-1s and BMP-2s—7,200 and 1,400, respectively—but not all of these old IFVs are recoverable. And losses continue unabated.
"Every Soviet-standard BMP the Russians have lost has made the Ukrainian-standard BMP-1Us more valuable, despite their unique logistics.
Beggars can’t be choosers. And when it comes to BMPs, the Russians have been begging for a while now. . ."
Beggars can’t be choosers. And when it comes to BMPs, the Russians have been begging for a while now. . ."
To improve the firepower of some of its BMP-1s—and to make surplus vehicles more valuable on the export market—the Scientific and Technical Center for Artillery and Small Arms in Kyiv swapped out the BMP’s old turret for a new one with a much more powerful 30-millimeter autocannon.
- The new, bigger turret displaces two of the BMP-1’s eight passenger seats.
- The Kyiv firm called this upgraded, nine-person IFV the “BMP-1U.”
- Following an unlikely chain of events that began in the Republic of Georgia in 2008, BMP-1Us now are fighting for the Russians—and against the Ukrainians.
- A Russian-operated BMP-1U recently appeared in a Russian propaganda video.
- A year later, Russia invaded Georgia—and Russian troops apparently captured every single Georgian BMP-1U. Tbilisi later re-upped on BMP-1Us with a fresh order in 2011.
Russian engineers reportedly spent some time inspecting the upgraded BMPs.
- And 15 years later, the Kremlin assigned some or all of the ex-Georgian IFVs to a front-line unit.
- The Russians also have captured a couple of BMP-1Us from the Ukrainians.
But it’s indisputable that a BMP-1U would complicate a motor rifle regiment’s logistics.
- The U-model’s Shkval turret is made from Ukrainian parts.
- To keep some of the 15 or so BMP-1Us in working order, a BMP company might have to cannibalize the rest of the BMP-1Us.
- That the Russians were willing to accept the logistical complications speaks to their desperate need for IFVs.
- 400 active BMP-3s,
- 2,800 BMP-2s and
- 600 BMP-1s.
- Since then the Russians have lost around 2,000 BMPs of all models, including 500 BMP-1s.
Russian industry can’t produce new BMP-3s fast enough to make good those losses, so the Kremlin has been pulling old BMP-1s and BMP-2s out of storage, replacing their seals and batteries and shipping them to the front as replacements.
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UAWire - Ukraine completes factory testing of new infantry fighting vehicle
A BMP-1U in Russian service.
RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY CAPTUREThe Ukrainian armed forces inherited more than 2,500 BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles from the Soviet army as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
13 HOURS AGO
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