BMD-2: Metal Storm

METAL STORM

 

  

  The BMD-2 is an airborne infantry fighting vehicle specially built for paradrop operations by the VDV - Russian airborne forces, first introduced in 1985. Its design is based on its predecessor, the BMD-1, which it is a modification of. Like the BMD-1, the BMD-2 belongs to a class of superlight IFVs designed with an emphasis on air transportability to increase the mechanized strength of airborne infantry.

  The BMD-2 never did replace the BMD-1, and it would seem that it was never intended to. The BMD-2's primary asset was its flexible 30mm autocannon, perfect for suppressive fire - and coupled with the high gun elevation made possible by the new turret and stabilizer system - a formidable threat to low-flying aircraft or infantry in elevated positions such as high rises or perhaps valley divides and mountains like in Afghanistan. However, there were things that the autocannon couldn't do that the 73mm cannon on the BMD-1 could. For instance, a single 73mm high-explosive shell is nearly 15 times more powerful than a 30mm equivalent, making it that much more useful for demolition work. Instead of replacing the BMD-1, the BMD-2 merely supplemented it, producing a synergy of sorts within the elite VDV - Russian airborne forces.

COMMANDER'S STATION

  The commander of the BMD-2 is situated in the front left hull. He is typically the squad leader or platoon leader of the infantry squad attached to the BMD, so he disembarks along with the rest of the passengers, leaving only the gunner and driver to operate alone. While operating from within the vehicle, he takes charge of one of the two bow machine guns. Unlike his neighbour bow machine gunner, though, he is supplied with an extra fixed periscope for additional situational awareness. But still, being located in the hull means that he is in a less elevated position than he would be had he been placed in the turret like on the BMP-2, the BMD-2's land-borne cousin. This, and the non-optimum observation devices means that he mostly concentrates on coordinating tactical maneuvers through his radio or relaying orders to the rest of the crew, but he doesn't spot or designate targets for the gunner as a tank commander usually does. The driver has better forward vision, so the commander doesn't need to navigate for the driver either.

  Originally, the commander's station in the first BMD-2 models was exactly identical to the one from the BMD-1. He is provided with a single fixed TNPO-160 periscope aimed to the left and a single TNPP-220 rotatable sighting periscope, slaved to his bow machine gun.

The TNPP-220 periscope can be rotated and elevated or depressed only as far as the bow machine gun's arc of traverse. The periscope itself has total range of vision of 20 degrees in the vertical plane and 76 degrees in the horizontal plane, not accounting for traversal.
  With just two periscopes and limited coverage, the commander's ability to assess the tactical situation was very severely handicapped. Later on though, the commander's bow machine gun was removed, and the periscope sighting device was replaced with an MK-4 periscope in a fully rotatable protective housing for better vision.

  The MK-4S periscope can be rotated by a full 360 degrees, and elevated by +18 degrees and depressed by -12 degrees. The periscope grants him a net range of vision of 18 degrees in the vertical plane and 47 degrees in the horizontal plane. Unfortunately, the commander's placement still hasn't changed. His vision will still be easily interfered with by tall grass, large rocks and shrubbery other terrain features, and his vision suffers tremendously if the vehicle is on the move over rough ground. The commander can bear down on the handle of the periscope for some impromptu stabilization to partially relieve the problem.

 

  The TNPO-160 periscope is a simple fixed periscope. It provides a total range of vision of 28 degrees in the vertical plane and 78 degrees in the horizontal plane.

All periscopes are heated through the RTC electric heating system to prevent fogging in cold weather conditions, and the MK-4S periscope housing is also heated to prevent it from being frozen in place.

COMMUNITCATIONS

  The R-123 FM radio station is located directly in front of the commander, beside the bow machine gun.

Radio visible beside the driver's indicator panel

  The R-123 radio had a frequency range of between 20 MHZ to 51.5 MHZ. It could be tuned to any frequency within those limits via a knob, or the commander could switch between four preset frequencies for communications within a platoon (which takes 3 seconds). It had a range of between 16km to 50km. The R-123 had a novel glass prism window at the top of the apparatus that displayed the operating frequency. An internal bulb illuminated a dial, imposing it onto the prism where it is displayed. The R-123 had an advanced modular design that enabled it to be repaired quickly by simply swapping out individual modules.

  In 1984, the now-outdated R-123 radio was replaced by the R-173 radio, which had a frequency range of between 30 MHZ to 75.999MHZ. It has 10 preset frequencies. It had an electronic keypad for entering the desired frequency, and a digital display.

R-173

  In the late 2000's, several hundred BMD-2s began a modernization program which included capital repairs and the installation of a new and advanced R-168-2UE-2 frequency-hopping encypted radio.

R168-25UE-2

  The R-168 family of radios is now standard throughout the Russian ground forces, from infantry platoons to tank companies. It can produce frequency hops 100 times a second, and the data is encrypted as well.

GUNNER'S STATION

The gunner is the sole occupant of the one-man turret. Because of the increased internal volume of the bigger turret, his station is less cramped than the one in a BMD-1, but it is still quite small.

He has good all-round visibility from his station, which compensates for the lack of a commander in the turret. He is provided with four TNPO-160 periscopes, two aimed to the left and another two aimed to the right. Directly in front of him, of course, is where the gunsights are mounted.

As mentioned before, the TNPO-160 provides a total range of vision of 28 degrees in the vertical plane and 78 degrees in the horizontal plane.

He is provided with two sights; a combined day/night primary sight and a special high-elevation anti-aircraft sight.

Note the larger combined primary sight on the turret roof and the smaller high elevation anti-aircraft sight to the right

SIGHTING COMPLEXES

The BMD-2 mounts two sighting units - a BPK-2-42-01 transplanted from the BPK-2-42 sight that the BMP-2 uses, but without an ATGM guidance channel, and a PZU-8 anti-aircraft sight.

PZU-8 to the left, BPK-2-42-01 to the right

BPK-2-42-01

  The BPK-2-42-01 combined passive/active universal sight is the gunner's primary sight. It is a very slightly modified variant of the BMP-2's BPK-2-42 sight, practically identical in all respects. It is capable of passive light intensification or active imaging with the help of the L-2 Luna IR spotlight mounted co-axially to the gun and turret. The reticle may be illuminated by an internal light bulb to facilitate aiming at twilight hours if the night mode is not used.
  The daytime sight channel has a fixed 6x magnification in the daytime channel and 5.5x in the nighttime channel, and a field of view of 10° in the daytime channel and the 6°40′ in the night channel.

  The sight aperture is protected by a layer of  ballistic glass to protect it from bomb splinters, but there is an additional spring-loaded pane of ballistic glass that may be lowered for protection from small arms fire. However, the supplementary pane has worse image clarity and could make reconnaissance a little bit harder, so it is usually kept raised unless explicitly needed. The sight has a small wiper.

  The sight is a highly unremarkable one, unfurnished with any accurate method of rangefinding. To do that, the gunner must rely on a simple stadiametric scale with a maximum range marked at 2.5 km. Once the target's range has been determined, the gunner must manually enter the range data into the sight, which then prompts it to make the necessary adjustments to the position of the reticle, namely, by raising the reticle up and down. The gunner must then manually lay the gun on the target by lining up the target with the adjusted reticle (which would be lowered to compensate for distance, forcing the gunner to raise the gun so that the reticle meets the target).
  Overall, the process was slow and clumsy. Users preferred to fix their sights for a predetermined range, usually about a kilometer or so, and make corrections on the fly when firing at targets.

PZU-8

  The PZU-8 sight is mounted on the side of the turret. It performs primarily in the anti-aircraft role, thanks to its extremely high elevation of +85° and depression of -10°. Its very large field of view of 50° enables the gunner to effectively track fixed wing ground attack aircraft as well as fast-moving attack helicopters.

PZU-8 high-elevation auxiliary anti-aircraft sight. Notice the thickness of the steel protrusion protecting the sight along its length

Aperture

The sight elevates and depresses in line with the autocannon.

STABILIZERS

2E36-1

  The BMD-2 is provided with two-plane stabilization in the form of the 2E36-1 fully electromechanical stabilizer, including the EDM-30 electric motor for turret traverse and the DGN-3 electric motor drive for weapons elevation.

 

  The 2E36-1 stabilization system uses electric motors for both horizontal and vertical drives. The preclusion of any hydraulic drives saves space and increases the safety factor enormously; the lack of flammable hydraulic fluid being pumped at high pressure greatly reduces the chance of a catastrophic internal fire in the event of a turret perforation.

Vertical stabilizer motor and Horizontal stabilizer motor

  The 2E36-1 stabilizer system has two modes of operation; automatic and semi-automatic. In the automatic mode, the stabilizer operates in the traditional sense, obeying prompts from the gunner and keeping the turret and cannon oriented with maximal accuracy at a point determined by the gunner. The semi-automatic mode, however, only meant for anti-aircraft use. Once the cannon is elevated more than +35 degrees, the stabilizer system shifts into semi-automatic on its own accord. In this mode, the stabilizer disconnects from the BPK-2-42-01 sight, which cannot be used to aim at angles of elevation of above +35 degrees, and interfaces with the PZU-8 anti-aircraft sight. The stabilizer then loses some of its precision, but gains speed. This is to help track and engage fast, highly maneuverable attack helicopters strafing close by.


  The stabilizer is more than good enough for the job, though the turret traverse speed could be much higher.

Automatic Mode

Time for full turret rotation: 12 seconds

Maximum Traversal Speed: 30°/sec
Minimum Traversal Speed: 0.07°/sec

Maximum Elevation Speed: 30°/sec
Minimum Elevation Speed: 0.07°/sec

With a minimum traverse and elevation speed of 0.07 degrees per second, the average accuracy of stabilization would be able to achieve an aiming precision of no less than 1.24 mils, which is equivalent to 1.24 meters at 1 km. With the accuracy of the armament itself accounted for, that degree of accuracy would be more than enough to guarantee consistent hits on targets of the APC and IFV variety.

Semi-Automatic Mode

Time for full turret rotation: 10 seconds

Maximum Traversal Speed: 35°/sec
Minimum Traversal Speed: 0.1°/sec

Maximum Elevation Speed: 35°/sec

Minimum Elevation Speed: 0.1°/sec

  At a cruising speed of 25 km/h to 35 km/h, the stabilizer is capable of maintaining its orientation with an average deviance of less than 1 mrad (1m deviation from point of aim at 1000m), and needless to say, the precision increases linearly as the speed of the vehicle decreases.

ARMAMENT

  The existence of the BMD-2 revolves entirely upon its autocannon. The decision to mount it came about as a result of the discovery that the BMD-1's 73mm cannon was too slow to be effective against a purely infantry-based fighting force in Afghanistan, compounded by the insufficient gun elevation to deal with ambushes from the crests of valley roads, upon which supply convoys would often need to traverse. Additionally, the BMD-1 had no anti-air capability, which was a major issue because an air-dropped VDV regiment would have to depend entirely on MANPADS.  Its entire armament suite is located within the turret, composed of a single 2A42 autocannon and a PKT co-axial machine gun. The turret has provisions for mounting a 9K111 Fagot or 9K113 Konkurs ATGM on the roof to be fired from the exterior of the vehicle.

PRIMARY

  The 2A42 is a dual-feed autocannon chambered for the Soviet 30x165mm cartridge. It has a variable rate of fire of either 200 rounds per minute or 550 rounds per minute. However, it can go up to 800 rounds per minute once the cannon is heated up by a few seconds of firing on full auto. Its high rate of fire is invaluable during engagements with concentrations of infantry, or when attacking a well-fortified position, whereby extra demolition power may be necessary. In practice, the 2A42 is simply irreplaceable during engagements with stealthy adversaries, especially if engaging in unconventional warfare. Even with thermal imaging sights, it may prove nigh impossible to spot and hit skilled and agile foot soldiers hidden in foliage and constantly on the move. Under such circumstances, the ability to saturate likely spots and areas of interest with high-explosive cannon shells is absolutely invaluable for preserving the vehicle itself as well act as in support of dismounted infantry.

  The gun has +60 degrees of elevation and -5 degrees of depression. This gave the BMD-2 the ability to engage aircraft, as well as targets located in high rises and tall mountains.

  By virtue of its high rate of fire and powerful ammunition, the 2A42 is effective even against main battle tanks of the modern era, not to mention more lightly armoured vehicles. Live fire testing confirmed that the 2A42 is not only able to produce a 'mission kill' on main battle tanks, but also do it very rapidly, which is an invaluable attribute, especially for a vehicle as light as the BMD-2. In the space of a few seconds, the gunner can let off around 20 to 30 shots with a few short bursts at medium ranges and reliably guarantee the destruction or disablement of various exterior devices such as tracks, periscopes, sensors, weapons, or perhaps large exterior laser rangefinders and IR spotlights as found on 60's and 70's era tanks. After these 5 seconds of action, the BMD-2 can immediately disappear behind terrain under the cover of a smokescreen.
  In the accuracy department, the gunner can engage pinpoint targets almost just as precisely as with its much slower counterparts like the British RARDEN or American Mk44 by simply firing in semi-auto, though it simply cannot match it one-against-one. Personally, the situation is somewhat reminiscent of the AK-74 vs M4 debacle. Accuracy is hugely impacted when firing on full automatic in the "high" setting, so bursts are electronically limited to 8 rounds, though this can be disabled. The gun is usually fired in the "low" setting when accuracy is necessary. Recoil is managed by the double-baffle muzzle brake.

  The autocannon is mounted slightly off to the right, which drives an unfortunate tendency for the turret to spin slightly to the right when the autocannon fires long bursts in full automatic. The effect is negligible at slower rates of fire, though, so this idiosyncrasy shouldn't pose any harmful effects to accuracy when it matters.
  30x165mm cartridges are standard between the ground forces, air force and navy. The propellant charge used for all shell types is designated as 6/7P-5BPfl, a type of high-energy stick powder.
  The ammunition load of 300 rounds is stowed in separate conformal containers on the right side of the turret, the space on the left side being reserved for the gunner. 180 rounds of HEI/-T ammunition and 120 rounds AP-T and APDS-T ammunition are available. Under certain mission conditions where encounters with armoured vehicles are not expected, both containers can be loaded purely with HEI/-T ammunition. This was not uncommonly done in low intensity conflicts such as in Chechnya or Afghanistan.

The red container contains ready ammunition

  Although the autocannon is undoubtedly extremely powerful, the small stock of ready ammunition for it severely limits the BMD-2's ability to conduct sustained firefights, and the lack of internal space makes stowing additional ammunition troublesome. Compared to the German Marder 1A+ series, for example; Those carry up to 1250 rounds of a much less lethal 20mm caliber, but that means that a Marder gunner has far more freedom in choosing his targets and a better ability to provide suppressive fire. Whether that suppressive fire actually has a chance of injuring anybody is a completely different question though. 20x139mm HEI ammunition for the Marder's Rh202 autocannon packs a measly 5.8g of Hexal, and the projectile itself weighs 125g. Compare that to the 3UOF8, which presides in an entirely different category altogether:

AMMUNITION

(3UOF8 HEI)

 

  High-explosive incendiary shell intended for the destruction and neutralization of enemy combatants, helicopters, thin-skinned utility vehicles, light fortifications, and main battle tanks. In some cases, these shells may prove more potent than armour-piercing shells against heavily armoured targets since they are able to effectively able to damage and destroy sighting systems and other important components including periscopes, machine guns and fuel tanks. The destruction of these may already affirm the end of whatever mission the vehicle in question was on, without necessarily destroying the vehicle in question.

The A-670M nose fuze is used. It will self-destruct after the shell has travelled approximately 4000m or so, depending on the strength of head and tail winds.  

Cartridge weight: 842 g

Projectile weight: 390 g

Muzzle velocity: 960m/s

Guaranteed Kill area: 5.95sq.m (Blast and fragmentation)

Lethal radius: ~5m (Fragmentation)

Casualty radius: ~12m

Explosive mass: 49 g

Explosive filling: A-IX-2 (Phlegmatized RDX + Aluminium powder) (Aluminium is pyrophoric. Detonation produces incendiary effects, increasing the chance of igniting or burning objects in its proximity)

  Compared to the 3UOR6, this shell is more useful when dealing with obstructions like walls and sandbag fortifications due to its much higher explosive power. It is also far more effective against personnel, thanks to the mass of the projectile and the number of splinters it produces. If compared to the American 25mm M792, the 3OF8 projectile weighs 2.1 times more, and it contains 1.53 times more explosives, despite a seemingly small increase of only 5mm, or 20% in diameter. 3UOF8 is in fact nominally more powerful than both the British 30x170mm HEI-SD, which weighs in at 360g with a 40g explosive charge, and the American 30x173mm Mk266, which weighs 362g. 

  Without a doubt, 3UOF8 can reliably guarantee the destruction of armoured attack helicopters thanks to its large explosive punch, which 20mm, 23mm and 25mm shells lack. In addition to that fact, although each shell has a relatively small lethal radius, their effect is massively amplified by multiple consecutive shells detonating in the same general area. The intersection and reflection of these blast waves can create a cumulative "kill zone" where internal cavities like the lungs, ear drums, intestines and stomach will be reduced to hemorrhaging masses, thereby killing someone that is outside of the nominal lethal radius of a shell, but standing between two or more of them. It's worth noting that this phenomenon can only be achieved with quick follow-up detonations, which the 2A42 is highly adept at with its exceptionally high rate of fire.

This shell is always loaded in tandem with the 3UOR6, since it lacks a tracer element.  

3UOR6 (HEI-T)

  

  Tracered high-explosive incendiary fragmentation shell intended for engaging personnel in the open and behind cover. Small explosive charge makes this shell generally unsuitable against the targets which the 3OF8 is used against, deferring the brunt of the work to it instead. To compensate for the lack of explosive power, the shell relies mainly on the fragments it produces.

The A-670M nose fuze is used. It will self-destruct after the shell has travelled approximately 4000m or so, depending on the strength of head and tail winds.

Cartridge weight: 835 g
Projectile weight: 388 g

Muzzle velocity: 960m/s
Guaranteed Kill area: 1.4sq.m (Blast and fragmentation)

Lethal radius: ~3m (Fragmentation)

Casualty radius: ~12m

Explosive mass: 11.5 g
Explosive filling: A-IX-2 (Phlegmatized RDX + Aluminium filings) (Aluminium is pyrophoric. Detonation produces incendiary effects, increasing the chance of igniting or burning objects in its proximity)

Tracer burn time: >9 seconds

  Although this shell has a mere 23% the amount of explosives contained in the 3OF8, it is encased with around the same mass of steel, which somewhat compensates for that fact. Since a sizable portion of the shell's mass is composed of the tracer element, the 3UOR6 shell tends to undershoot the constant-mass 3OF8. This is especially noticeable at longer distances.

This shell is always loaded in tandem with the 3UOF8, being its tracered counterpart.

 3UBR6 (AP-T)

  

  Armour-piercing shell for the sole purpose of engaging armoured targets. This shell can be depended upon when engaging most IFVs and APCs, but not examples of the current generation. It is also capable of disabling some main battle tanks when attacking from the flanks or the rear.

Cartridge mass: 856 g
Projectile mass: 400 g

Muzzle velocity: 970 m/s
Core: High-hardness tool steel (60KhNM ?), blunt tip

Penetration, RHA (60 degrees):

700m = 20mm

1500m = 16mm

(Official values)

Penetration, RHA (0 degrees)
Muzzle = 55mm (?)
700m = 45mm (?)
1500m = 35mm (?)

(Surmised values)

Tracer burn time: >3.5 seconds


  Due to its mediocre properties, its performance on light armour is rather modest, although it is certain that it is fully capable of perforating the armour of lightly armoured APCs such as the American M113, German Luchs, French VAB, or perhaps the generally light armour of scout cars and other armoured cars, while some modern vehicles like the Stryker and LAV III still prove largely vulnerable. It is capable of defeating older IFVs like the M2A1 Bradley from the front at ranges in excess of 1500m, but against the latest IFVs, the 3UBR6 shell is, for the most part, less useful than HEI shells.
  It quite interesting to note that this shell should be able to perforate the side armour of some tanks of its time, particularly at close ranges. The AMX 30, Leopard 1 and Chieftain are three such unfortunate examples. Legacy tanks like the Centurion are highly vulnerable as well.
  Another interesting fact is that this shell is not insignificantly affected by steeply angled armour due to its full-bore steel construction. This is demonstrably proven by their tendency to ricochet when striking armour at low angles of attack, despite the blunt-but-vaguely-pointy nose. As such, it is inferred that their performance on perpendicular targets is significantly higher than on angled ones. This was duly expressed in the penetration listings above.
  Although these shells technically may not be able to pierce armour that is thicker for its certified capability, multiple hits may crack thick steel plates. This is not possible with modern steel armour, though.

3UBR8 (APDS-T)

  

  Greatly improved armour-piercing shell with a plastic discarding sabot with an aluminium plug, providing more opportunities to destroy armoured targets. Its properties are superior to the 3BR6 by a wide margin in all respects, including accuracy. A higher velocity and superior ballistic coefficient also enables the subcaliber tungsten alloy penetrator to travel with a flatter trajectory and to retain more of its energy at extended distances.

Cartridge weight: 765 g

Projectile weight: 304 g

Core weight: 222g

Muzzle velocity: 1120m/s

Core: Tungsten alloy

Penetration, RHA (60 degrees):

1000m = 35mm

1500m = 25mm

2000m = 22mm

(Official values from Rosoboronexport and Kurganmashzavod)

Penetration, RHA (0 degrees):

Muzzle = 85mm (?)

500m   = 80mm (?)

1000m = >70mm

1500m = >50mm

2000m = >44mm

(Surmised values)

Tracer burn time: >1.5 seconds

  The 3UBR8 shell is capable of defeating most modern IFVs, but with varying effectiveness. Older IFVs like the M2A2 Bradley, Warrior, Marder 1A3, and the like can be handily eliminated at ranges of around 1000 m, especially with the 2A42's very high rate of fire in mind. Next-gen designs like the Puma are undoubtedly fully immune.

  Although this shell travels at only 83.2% the velocity of its main counterpart (the 25mm M791 APDS shell), its core weighs 2.3 times more. Not only does this mean that the 3BR8 penetrator has twice the amount of kinetic energy, but an important factor is also realized, seeing as both of these shells are made from tungsten alloys; Knowing that the ballistic properties of these shells both meet the 1000 m/s benchmark for superplastic deformation to occur, the 3BR8 shell has a significant advantage in that it will retain more residual mass after the inevitable effects of penetrator erosion (mushrooming effect while passing through armour material), thus ensuring that it can penetrate more armour than a lighter equivalent while also improving after-armour effects, in that a greater number of heavier fragments will travel at a greater speed after armour perforation.

Erosion is the primary reason why penetrators leave holes larger than their diameters after striking and penetrating homogeneous armour - material from the penetrator is forcefully deflected, changing the direction of applied energy from forwards to radially sideways, essentially wasting it. Loss of penetrator mass during erosion also contributes to the reduction of useful energy.

   

  The 3BR8 shell has another advantage with regards to the same effect in that it has a lower velocity, which proportionately reduces the rate of erosion. All these factors should not only offset the two main disadvantageous properties of the 3BR8, which are its lower velocity and larger cross-sectional area, but the shell should possess a considerable advantage. True enough, Rosoboronexport claims that the 3BR8 shell can penetrate 25mm RHA angled at 60 degrees at 1500m while ATK claims that the M791 penetrates the same thickness of armour at 1300m. Knowing that the standards for certifying armour penetration differ between the East and the West, the discrepancy between the two rivals is actually even bigger. The Russians use V80 when expressing penetration values, which to the layman means that the 3BR8 shell will penetrate 25mm RHA angled at 60 degrees at 1500m in 80% of all cases. The remainder 20% may perform above or below this standard. In contrast to this, Western countries use V50. This means that only 50% of all fired M791 shells will actually perform as advertised. The difference will probably be much more apparent in some other cases. For example, the 3BR8 shell is most certainly less sensitive to the effects of spaced and composite armour, because it has much higher inertia, and because it has a lower velocity, which makes it less susceptible to yawing. 

  Generally speaking, the 3BR8 shell is capable of doing whatever the 3BR6 shell was capable of, but to a greater degree. The increased penetration potential allows gunners to confidently engage a larger collection of main battle tanks from the rear or even the side in some cases. Examples of these may include the Chieftain, Challenger 1, earlier Leopard 2s and the M60 series. Although repeat shots could again still be necessary, the practical threshold is clearly much higher if compared to the 3BR6. Unsurprisingly, being a great deal more accurate and powerful, it has been gradually replacing the obsolete 3UBR6 since the early 90's, although the latter is still being widely used in training and live fire exercises due to lower cost.

  A pyrotechnic charge is used to instantaneously cock the cannon and ready it for firing. However, if a pyrotechnic charge is not loaded, then the gunner can still manually cock the gun by repeatedly working a lever attached to the cannon receiver. The process is laborious and time consuming (due to the heavy springs necessary to withstand the tremendous recoil forces), but it does have its own advantages. Although such eccentricities would not be necessary in an electrically operated chaingun, a chaingun requires external power to fire. If the power source was interrupted, a chaingun would be rendered useless. Due to its gas-powered nature, the 2A42 can still be fired with the BMD-2 operating in "degraded mode" - knocked out engine and no battery power, all operations reverted to manual control.

SECONDARY

  A PKT machine gun is mounted on the turret as a co-axial weapon, mainly for use in situations where the autocannon might be unnecessary or maybe 'overkill'. The 7.62x54mm ammunition used is not powerful enough to prove to be meaningful in any large capacity against entrenched manpower, or infantry behind masonry, but it is a viable means of providing suppressive fire. Ammunition is supplied in 250-round belts stored in individual boxes.

BOW MACHINE GUNS

  Two more PKB machine guns are mounted on either side of the forward hull to be used by the two passengers seated on either side of the driver. Late model BMD-2s had the port side bow machine gun removed to free up more space for the commander to perform his other duties (manning the radio station, observing, etc). The unused machine gun port would be covered with an armoured plug.

  The PKB machine gun was a modified PK machine gun with removable spade grips and modified trigger. The innovative aiming mechanism carried over from the BMD-1, where the rotating periscope directly in front of the bow gunner(s) was mechanically slaved to the machine gun port trunnion. This meant that wherever the machine gun was pointed, the periscope would accurately face the same direction. Elevation as well as horizontal traverse were both fully accounted for. The bow gunner would aim using a ghost ring reticle.

Ghost ring reticle visible in the periscope

The two connecting rods moved the periscope side to side, or levered them to rotate it up or down

  Ammunition for the PKBs is supplied in 250-round belts in individual boxes. Although the aiming system is somewhat rudimentary from an technical point of view, it was no less ingenious and probably just as effective as the direct-vision firing ports omnipresent on Soviet troop carriers. In fact, in some cases (mostly with some Western designs), passenger machine gunners had to estimate the point of impact by "walking fire", which is a highly inaccurate method of aiming especially against long distance targets and when on the move, so much so that it would be better not to open fire at all.
  The ball turret for the machine gun is heated through the RTC heater system to prevent it from freezing in place in cold weather condition. The mounting cradle for the PKT machine gun is seen below:

The periscope-to-machine gun connection has been dismantled in this example

Additionally, there are two firing ports on either side of the hull.

Firing port on the starboard hull

Firing port on the rear exit hatch

The firing ports can fit any type of rifle.

TERTIARY

  Like the BMD-1 preceding it, the BMD-2 features a small protruding post on its turret roof, on which the 9K111 Fagot or 9K113 Konkurs ATGM systems may be mounted. The BMD-2 was issued with 9P135 Konkurs missile launchers, which were backwards compatible with Fagot missiles.

  It must be said outright that one of the biggest failings of the BMD-2 lies in the fact that this rooftop ATGM may only be fired by either a dismounted passenger manning it from behind the turret, or by the gunner, who must open his hatch. The whole process from aiming and firing the ATGM to guiding it to its target may take as much as 20 seconds, exposing the user to return fire all the while. Although the operator (usually the gunner) may not have much to fear from bullets coming from the front, as his 6mm-thick hatch offers some protection, he would be in danger from overhead threats like airbursting mortar shells and bomb splinters from all around him.

  As mentioned earlier, the missile launcher itself is the standard 9P135 launch-and-control unit, sans tripod. The launcher is placed very high up relative to the turret, far above even the gunsights. A cunning crew could take advantage of this and park their BMD-2 behind a hill, exposing only the missile launcher. After hitting the target, the variable height suspension may be lowered to conceal the launcher for a reload, and raised for another shot.
  Another distinct, if questionable advantage to this setup is that the missile launcher can be dismounted and used by the crew when fighting on foot, if perhaps the vehicle is disabled. This means that even if they are forced to abandon ship, the crew still has heavy weapons on hand and still can repel an attack, and perhaps even live to put the launcher back on its pedestal.

Both the Fagot and Konkurs missiles are wire-guided, utilizing an infrared bulb at the rear end of the rocket for the launcher to track, and both missiles are launched via a two-staged propulsion system. The first stage is a squib cartridge in the rear of the container which generates high-pressure gas that propels the missile out of the tube. Once the missile has cleared some distance, the rocket motor activates and sustains the missile's flight up until it has reached its target.
  Like with the BMP-2, the high placement of the missile launcher plus the height adjustment feature of the BMD-2 presents some unique tactical opportunities. For example, it is possible for the BMD-2 to be placed in complete defilade with the hull and turret behind a hill, rock or other type of cover or concealment, and have the ATGM fired over it. The vehicle can adapt to a variety of such pieces of cover expressly due to its height adjustment feature.

  There can be a total of 3 missiles stored behind the gunner's seat. Reloading the missile launcher is slow and laborious due to the rather cramped nature of the turret, but the fact that the missiles are stowed inside the turret itself and not in the hull simplifies matters considerably. The average rate of fire should be around 2 rounds per minute with both the Fagot and Konkurs.

9K111-2 Fagot

  Although not usually issued along with the BMD-2, the launcher is compatible with this missile.

Weight of missile in container: 13kg

Minimum range: 70m
Maximum range: 2000m

Penetration: 400mm RHA

9K111-M Faktoria

  Improved Fagot missile with upgraded sustainer motor and shaped charge warhead.


Weight of missile in container: 12.9kg

Muzzle Velocity:
Sustained Velocity: 186 m/s

Minimum range: 75m
Maximum range: 2500m

Penetration: 460mm RHA

9K113 Konkurs

  By the time of the BMD-2's introduction, the Konkurs was the standard vehicle-based ATGM system. It can be considered an older brother to the Fagot, possessing a larger warhead and boasting a doubled flight range, but also much heavier, which made it unsuitable for manpacking. Nevertheless, the launcher was designed to be backwards compatible with the Fagot missile so that in case there was a shortage of Konkurs missiles and an excess of Fagot missiles, the BMD-2 could still operate with some anti-tank capabilities intact. Conversely, the launcher could then be dismounted and used on the ground if necessary.
  The warhead had a rounded cuboid wave shaper. The large size of the stabilizing fins creates a lot of drag, which is quite inefficient during flight.

Weight of missile in container: 25.16kg

Muzzle Velocity: 80 m/s
Sustained Velocity: 200 m/s

Missile Diameter: 170mm
Warhead Diameter: 135mm
Shaped Charge Cone Diameter: 102mm

Minimum Range: 75m
Maximum Range: 4000m

Penetration: 600mm RHA

9K113-M Konkurs-M

Improved Konkurs missile in a tandem warhead configuration, with more powerful primary warhead.


Weight of missile in container: 25.16kg

Muzzle Velocity: 80 m/s
Sustained Velocity: 200 m/s

Missile Diameter: 170mm
Warhead Diameter: 135mm
Shaped Charge Cone Diameter: 102mm

Minimum Range: 75m
Maximum Range: 4000m

Penetration: 750mm RHA (Behind ERA)
                  At least ~800mm RHA (Without ERA)



  Because of the enormous weight of the missile, reloading the launcher on the turret roof is not an easy task, to put it mildly. The average rate of fire should be around 2 shots per minute, assuming that the vehicle is stationary. In reality though, the BMD-2 is far too lightly armoured to risk getting hit by return fire, so the most common scenario would be a shoot-and-scoot scheme.


  Although old, the Konkurs ATGM is still very effective. Video evidence has shown that either it or the Fagot are wholly capable of defeating the side turret armour array of an Iraqi (or Saudi) M1A1 SA Abrams tank, therefore justifying the inference that either two are also capable of defeating the side turret armour of any existing modern tank as well, as long as there is no ERA kit in the way. Even then, that will not be a problem for the 9M113-M Konkurs with a tandem warhead. Since TUSK is primarily meant for urban combat and its weight makes traversing muddy terrain more difficult, it should be expected that the Fagot and Konkurs will still be very relevant on the Central and Eastern European battlefield.

PROTECTION

  The aluminium hull of the BMD-2 is carried over from the BMD-1, and the turret is made of steel, just like with its predecessor. The vehicle is very light, but that is not to say that the vehicle has distinguishably poor protection per se; Although the BMD-2 is much lighter than most other IFVs, it is also much, much smaller than most other IFVs, which means that it retains armour density roughly equal to that of a volumetrically larger and correspondingly heavier vehicle.
 The hull is made of aluminium alloy, while the turret is made of steel. The frontal arc can withstand .50 caliber machine gun fire at reasonable distances, and the sides can resist 7.62mm machine gun fire with good guarantees - slightly worse than the non-airborne BMP-2 nominally, but superior to the M113, a similarly aluminium-cladded armour personnel carrier.
  The frontal hull aspect draws a great deal of its protection value from its pike-nosed geometry and heavy angling, best seen here:

The upper glacis is angled at 78 degrees on the vertical axis, and the lower glacis at 50 degrees. There is also an additional 20 degrees of horizontal sloping for both upper and lower glaces.

 

  The aluminium used for the BMD-2 is alloy ABT-101, same as with the BMD-1. According to several research papers written on the subject, the effectiveness of aluminium armour may reach up to 50% of steel, but non-armour grade aluminium alloys are typically only around 40% as effective (or less). An example of this would be 5083 alloy, which were only 34% as effective as steel for the same thickness, given that the plates used were above a certain thickness threshold. ABT-101 was specially developed for use as armour, and because of that, it had more suitable properties, giving it significantly better performance (up to 45% as effective as steel armour). However, because of aluminium's generally worse hardness, it is much less capable of deflecting ballistic threats than typical armour-grade steel for the same thickness, so aluminium armour does not gain as much protection from angling as hard, armour-grade steel would. ABT-101 has a hardness of approximately 145 BHN, harder than mild steel and harder than 7039 aluminium alloy, which is known to be used in American designs like the M551 Sheridan and M2 Bradley, and much, much harder than the 5083 alloy used in the M113, which had a hardness of just 75 BHN, but much lower than typical RHA steel, which typically ranges from 220 BHN to 300 BHN in hardness. The comparatively greater hardness affords the BMD-2 better performance against bullets of all types compared to foreign aluminium armour of the same weight, and certainly significantly greater potential as sloped armour.
  Additionally, the diminutive size of the BMD-2 contributes greatly to its overall survivability. With maximum ground clearance, the BMD-2 is negligibly taller than the average Soviet male combatant at 1.905m, but only 1.585m tall with minimal ground clearance. Indeed, at its maximum, the BMD-2 is only slightly taller than many Western combatants, making it exceptionally difficult to score a hit at long distances. Attempting to visually identify a camouflaged BMD-2 from afar would be next to impossible, especially when plenty of shrubbery is present and the crew is properly taking advantage of terrain features with the help of the vehicle's variable ground clearance. Thus, although the armour of the BMD-2 is wholly insufficient against heavier anti-armour weapons, its survivability would still be quite high.
  However, size no longer makes any difference in the present. Current generation autocannons like the new Rheinmetall Mk30-2/ABM and Bushmaster Mk44 are so accurate that they will have no trouble at all achieving a near-100% hit rate at long distances on the BMD-2, even while both are moving at high speeds, and modern thermal imaging sights - not to mention emerging QWIP sights - will be able to see and track the BMD-2 as clear as day at any distance.

Destroyed BMD-2. Notice the thickness of the rear armour

Here is a more detailed breakdown:

Glacis: 15mm Aluminium @ 75° @ 20° = 28mm RHAe LOS*1

Lower plate: 32mm Aluminium @ 47° @ 20° = 22.5mm RHAe LOS*2

Upper sides: 23mm Aluminium = 10.35mm RHAe LOS

Lower sides: 20mm Aluminium = 9mm RHAe LOS

Turret front: 22mm RHA @ 37° = 28.7mm RHA*3

Turret rear: 10mm RHA

Hull roof: 12mm Aluminium = 6mm RHAe

Turret roof: 5mm RHA

Hull rear: 20mm Aluminium = 10mm RHAe

Rear doors: 4mm RHA

(Hull thickness values from technical drawing)


1*Due to the extremely steep and three dimensional sloping, the actual protection value of the armour here is far, far higher. All non APFSDS-type shells ranging from 7.62mm AP to 20mm APDS will be deflected.
2*Modest sloping of the armour here is enough to guarantee resistance from .50 Caliber steel cored armour-piercing rounds.
3*Not including added benefit of the curvature of the turret, especially at the outer boundaries of the turret profile.

Let us consider the armour penetration of common NATO ammunition:

5.56x45mm ball/AP, M855 = ~6.35mm RHA @ point blank
5.56x45mm AP, M995 = ~12mm RHA @ 100m

7.62x51mm ball, M-80 = ~6.35mm RHA @ 274m
7.62x51mm AP, M61 = 7mm RHA @ 300m
7.62x51mm AP, M993 = ~18mm RHA @ 100m

And also:

7.62x39mm BZ = 7mm @ 200m
7.62x39mm M43 = 3.5mm @ 280m
7.62x39mm M67 = 1.6mm @ 400m

.50 M2 AP = 25.4mm @ 200m, 19mm @ 500m
.50 M33 Ball = 8mm @ 500m


All values are obtained on vertical plate. Penetration values on sloped armour plate are drastically lower.


  Generally speaking, the BMD-2 is more than good enough for protecting its occupants from mortar and artillery fragmentation and splinters. The hull can only handle fragments and splinters from larger artillery shells (150mm-type) periodically. The vehicle offers reliable all-round protection from armour piercing machine gun fire of small and medium calibers at any range. It can resist .50 caliber machine gun fire head-on perfectly well at 200m and above, but that is the limit. Angled at 30° off to the side, the entire frontal profile will be able to repel .50 caliber AP at point-blank distances. The BMD-2 is hopeless against any form of autocannon fire at any range within reason, but notable exceptions would be cannons firing the rather anemic 20x102mm cartridge, particularly the common M197 gattling gun as mounted on helicopters like the AH-1 Cobra, or perhaps the M61 Vulcan fired from an M163 SPAAG or the M167 VADS. At distances of about a kilometer, the BMD-2 had sufficient protection to grant it a reasonable degree of immunity from multiple hits across the frontal arc, and even the side armour has a decent chance of holding up. This would have severely diminished the merits of helicopter support (especially since the BMD-2 has a 30mm cannon good for shooting down helicopters) and seriously devalued 20mm anti-aircraft weapons in any other role except air defence.
  Additionally, a certain degree of immunity was provided against 20x139mm shells, popularly used in autocannons mounted on scout cars as well as fixed emplacements like the widespread Rh202 twin autocannon mount. This would also mean that the BMD-2 is highly survivable even against much heavier IFVs like the Marder 1 at longer ranges.

  However, the situation is drastically different today. The intolerably thin side armour is vulnerable to modern 7.62mm armour piercing ammunition. Without any armour upgrades, the BMD-2 is extremely vulnerable to even the simplest machine guns. Still, the problem can be potentially remedied with an applique armour kit. The BMD-2 is no longer required to not exceed 8 tons in weight thanks to the availability of heavy-duty rocket parachute systems like the ones used by the BMD-3, BMD-4 and BMD-4M.

ERGONOMICS

  There is very little space for passengers in the BMD-2. There are three seats immediately behind the turret basket for dismounts, arranged around the circumference of the turret. Two are located on either corners of the compartment and the center seat is located directly underneath the large exit hatch, but there is so little distance between the turret basket and the engine compartment partition that the dismount must sit sideways.

Port side passenger's seat

Center passenger's seat

  The interior is very cramped in general. There is barely enough room for the squad to haul along any additional equipment other than the standard RPG-16 or RPG-7D, but stowing small arms like a machine gun or an SVD is not too problematic. There is not enough space for an automatic grenade launcher, though. The fender shelves (empty space above the tracks) are use to stow a MANPADS launcher.

  Each seat is provided with a periscope to grant the occupants some situational awareness. The two passengers seated on either side of the hull are given a TNPO-160 periscope each, which are aimed slightly forward. There is another MK-4 rotatable periscope mounted in the rear hatch, which allows excellent coverage of the vehicle's rear and flanks.

Ventilation for all occupants is provided by a single dome-shaped ventilator located on the starboard side of the hull, adjacent to the turret.

  The ventilator sucks in air through a wire mesh-covered radial port. It has an integrated filter for operation in highly dusty or chemically and biologically contaminated area, and the filter additionally incorporates an integrated self-cleaning system, utilizing blasts of high pressure air to blow dust and other filtrates out through the evacuation port (protruding port on the dome, not covered by mesh, as seen above). This ventilator is responsible for creating an overpressure to prevent any such contaminants from entering the vehicle from breaches in the vehicle's skin.

The ventilator has an electric heater installed for supplying the occupants with warm air.

There are two storage bins located on top of the engine deck. They are meant for tools and spare parts. Their placement practically guarantees that they will be untouched during combat.

DRIVER-MECHANIC'S STATION

Driver's instrument panel. Note that the absolute maximum speed is 100 km/h

  At the very front of the hull is the driver's station. The steering system is of a tiller-type, with dry friction clutches. The tillers are also connected to a pulley system, which opens and closes the water jet covers depending on how far the tillers are pulled back. He has access to all the necessary driving-related controls as well as controls for all of the miscellaneous features of the vehicle, including interior heating, NBC activation, and the like. The driver has very good driving visibility from his bank of three TNPO-160A periscopes. They are heated through the RTC system to prevent fogging.

The center periscope may be replaced with a binocular nightvision periscope.

Or a TNP-370A extended periscope for when the vehicle is swimming.

The TNP-370A extended periscope has a net range of vision of 42 degrees in the horizontal plane, and 12 degrees in the vertical plane. The periscope allows the driver to peer over the trim vane and navigate in the water without assistance from the gunner, who might be busy bombarding targets on shore.

  The BMD-2 has a single F-125 IR headlight on the starboard side and a single F-126 white light headlight on the port side.
    The F-127 IR periscope is used exclusively in tandem with the binocular night vision periscope for nighttime driving. The view range of the periscope is completely insufficient for any real navigation, but it is good enough for road marches and less intense maneuvering. The IR filter cap may be removed to revert the IR headlight into a regular driving light if needed.

Starboard side driving light and of course, the horn

  For convoy driving, the F-126 headlight/blackout light may be used. Blackout lights function by directing light forwards and downwards through small slits, minimizing the amount of light being transmitted off in other directions. This is to minimize the possibility of being seen, especially from afar. Because blackout lights only illuminate very small areas in front of the vehicle, the driver can't really see any further than a few meters. Depending on them for navigation is completely out of the question.

MOBILITY

  Like the BMD-1, the BMD-2 is powered by the low-profile 5D-20 V-shaped diesel engine, located at the rear of the hull. It produces 240 hp, plenty for the BMD-2. Weighing in at 8.225 tons combat loaded and only 8 tons empty, it has superb agility with an almost unheard of power-to-weight ratio of 29.2 hp/ton in combat, and over 30 hp/ton when not. This is slightly lower than the BMD-1, but still good for its class of vehicle.
  The BMD-2 has a maximum safe driving speed of 61 km/h on a highway, and an average speed of 30 to 50 km/h cross country. It readily accelerates to its top speed, and the amount of torque generated lets the vehicle recover from rough terrain speedily.

The engine is liquid-cooled. The cooling fan and radiator is located at the very rear of the engine compartment. The wide, flat engine deck is beneficial for cooling.

Cooling fan air intake

  The exhausts are located at the two rear corners of the hull. The radiator is placed centrally, and the engine air intakes are located on the top of either side of the two "humps", above the exhaust ports.

Notice the pipes from the air intake manifolds of the engine leading out towards the air intakes

  As mentioned before, the engine air intakes are protected by armoured louvers which can be remotely shut by the driver from his station. They provide protection from airbursting shells, small arms fire from above and flame attacks.

  The engine is electrically started, with an option to use compressed air from the on board air compressor, operating on battery power. There is an integrated electric heater to heat up air before it enters the engine, to facilitate starting in cold weather.

  The port side "hump" in front of the radiator and exhaust unit holds essential fluids for the engine, such as lubricant, coolant oil and fuel. All three of these can be accessed through the ubiquitous armoured plugs, one each for each fluid.

  The BMD-2 can climb a vertical slope of 32 degrees, traverse a side slope of 18 degrees, and overcome a vertical obstacle 0.7m in height. It is able to cross trenches 2.5m in width, but is is capable of leaping over gaps as wide as 4m or more by running on a ramp or hitting a bump just before crossing. The BMD-2 can this do effortlessly and almost without risk thanks to its ability to get itself up to a very high speed.


  The BMD-2 has five solid die-cast aluminium roadwheels with rubber rims on either side. Lightweight hollow roadwheels used in the BMP-1 and BMP-2 which helped increase buoyancy were available, and would be preferable, but they would not have been able to withstand the force of an airdrop landing.

  The BMD-2 has a ground pressure of 7.1 psi fully loaded, which is rather high despite its low weight. This is because of its thin tracks, which are also unfortunately somewhat fragile. However, the thinness of the tracks also means that there is less frictional force with the ground, especially when turning. This gives it superb agility over paved roads as well as dirt ones, but the BMD-2 suffers when crossing swampy ground. In which case, it must make good use of the eponymous log.

The BMD-2's innovative hydropneumatic suspension carries over from the BMD-1. It is very compact.
  The BMD-2 has the ability to adjust ground clearance on-the-fly. The ground clearance can be adjusted to either 0.1m or 0.45m, or anything in between. The default setting for driving is 0.42m. The lowest setting is used to properly load the BMD-2 onto a plane before an air drop to minimize impulsive forces on the suspension in order to prevent damage to the suspension upon landing, but it is also useful for reducing the total height of the vehicle to let it fit better into the confines of a cargo hold. This is contrary to counterparts like the Bradley, which must be lashed to a loading pallet with tremendous force to compress the torsion bar suspension so that the hull would be as low as possible for loading. With the BMD-2, all this is done at the flick of a switch by the driver. The vehicle may be driven in any configuration. Fully lowered, the roadwheels have almost no room to travel and therefore cannot absorb shocks from terrain irregularities.

Lowered, not tensioned

Raised

  The hydropneumatic suspension system uses a pneumatic cylinder as a spring. Adjusting the height of the roadwheels is done by adjusting the pressure in the pneumatic cylinders. The pneumatic cylinder is placed above the hydraulic piston, which is connected to the roadwheel. The pneumatic cylinder has a manual release valve to relieve pressure (at the top of the cylinder, seen below), and air is ported to the chamber behind the hydraulic piston, pushing it or pulling it depending on whether the air in the pneumatic cylinder is pressurized or depressurized. To keep the roadwheel in position, the pressure must be constant. The system is self contained - the pneumatic cylinder contains all the air necessary. Air is distributed by valve banks located under the seats of the port side and starboard side passenger seats in the passenger space.

Hydropneumatic mechanism, currently disconnected from roadwheel interface arm (you can see the locking pin on the floor). In this photo, the BMD is resting on the belly of the hull, judging from the position of the roadwheel interface arm.

Air for the pneumatic springs is supplied by an air compressor powered by the engine. It is located directly forward of the engine, behind the partition between the engine compartment with the passenger compartment.

And of course, the idler wheel and drive sprocket must be adjusted for track tension as well. This is done by a hydraulic piston.

  The BMD-2 holds 280 liters of fuel at the rear of the hull on either side of the engine compartment, giving it a cruising range of 500km on a highway on internal fuel alone. Because of their placement, the fuel tank will never pose a threat to the crew or the vehicle itself. From the rear, they are hidden by the radiator and exhaust unit, completely precluding the possibility of them getting hit. If the side hull was penetrated, fuel would simply leak out harmlessly, away from the exit hatch at the engine deck.

WATER OBSTACLES

The BMD-2 is fully amphibious, and can readily enter and cross large bodies of water.

  But first, the driver must activate the electric bilge pumps (which throw water out of the interior if it is flooded), erect the wave breaker, and shut off the engine air intakes. All this is done automatically by flicking toggle switches.
  Like with the BMD-1, the BMD-2 is propelled by two waterjets (pictured) when in the water.

Water is sucked up through underbelly ports located at the very rear of the hull, as you can see:

To prevent water from sloshing up to the driver's hatch a trim vane must be erected. There is also a simple ribbed wave breaker attached to the hull glacis.

It is pushed up to the 'open' position by a small rod and crossbar assembly, pictured below:

Wave breaker and trim vane removed

  Because the exhaust ports will be totally submerged when the BMD-2 enters water, the exhaust gasses are blown out by compressed air generated by the bilge pumps. The bilge pumps also work to throw water out of the hull through the same exhaust ports. This is done strongly enough to blow water straight up in the air.

When the vehicle exits water, the exhaust ports will spit any collected water back out with tremendous force as long as the bilge pumps are still on.

(The radiator is smoking, which never happens when driving on land).

The BMD-2 is heavier than the BMD-1, but uses the same hull, which means that it has a considerably worse buoyancy reserve.

STRATEGIC MOBILITY

 

  The BMD-2 is rather famous for being an air-droppable "tank", and rightly so. It can be air-dropped directly into the battlefield by appropriate cargo planes such as the Il-76, from an altitude ranging from 2000m to just 500m. It is also possible to airdrop BMD-2s directly into a stretch of water from a very low altitude, barely above water level. In this case, a parachute system is not necessary. By dropping the BMD-2 into bodies of water, such as rivers (which become "landing strips"), the BMD-2 can be used in extremely stealthy insertions because its transporter, the Il-76, may fly at very low altitudes to evade radar detection. It's worth noting that if the transport plane is not flying at low altitudes, it will most certainly be detected and tracked by enemy radars, and so will the parachuting BMD. Although an air insertion is very quick, it is not clandestine.

  Using the PRSM-925 retro rocket parachute system, the vehicle may be dropped with the entire crew plus passengers from an altitude of 500m to 1500m. The PRSM-925 rocket system needs only one large main parachute. It's primary purpose is to align the retro rocket and the suspended vehicle perfectly perpendicular to the ground, and its secondary purpose is to control the speed of descent, which is still very high. Because there's only one parachute, there is not much clutter that can entangle the vehicle on landing, and because the speed of descent is relatively high up until the retro rockets activate, the amount of time the BMD-2 is visible in the air is significantly reduced. Before being loaded onto a plane, the BMD-2 must loaded onto a shock absorbing pallet beforehand. This is to prevent the vehicle from sinking if it lands in marshy soil.

  The rockets are activated by a contact probe deployed from underneath the pallet. They ensure that the rocket activates at the optimum altitude for the softest possible landing.

Alternatively, the RKMS-165 multi-parachute system may be employed:

  It involves the use of a bouquet of 9 large primary parachutes, and instead of a rocket booster to soften the landing, a simple air cushion is used instead. Landing through this method is rougher, and is less suitable for a crewed landing. Additionally, the crew needs to remove several straps securing the hull to the air cushion before the vehicle can be put into action. This is far too time consuming for combat insertions, so this method is only used for delivering the BMD-2 to remote areas quickly where an airstrip or a suitable landing zone is not present, but immediate combat is not expected. Air transport is faster than rail transport, and much faster than having the vehicle driven by itself. Air dropped vehicles like the BMD-2 are often the only force multiplier that soldiers may have until heavier equipment can arrive, and that may take days.

  Another option lies in the use of heavy transport helicopters. The BMD-2 may be carried the Mi-26 or Mi-10 in particular.

Two BMD-2s about to be loaded into an Mi-26

  The BMD-2 may also be flown by a Mi-6, but only in an underslung configuration. Two BMD-2s may be transported internally per sortie in an Mi-26, or one in an underslung configuration. The Mi-10 may transport one BMD-2 attached to the air frame.

References

http://www.arms-expo.ru/news/armed_forces/ocherednaya_partiya_bmd_2_napravlena_v_chasti_vdv/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwibzJx7ns0

http://mreadz.com/new/index.php?id=132817&pages=10
NII Stali Fact Sheet on Aluminium Armour
http://www.dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?mode=P&vmode=T&p=261&id=4395&tp=w
http://vmk.tplants.com/ru/products/bmd2/
http://lzos.ru/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=72
http://lzos.ru/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=71
http://kbptula.ru/en/productions/small-arms-guns-grenade-launchers/guns-machine-guns/2a42
http://kubinkamuseum.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76&Itemid=274
https://books.google.com.my/books?id=BNvfNYW6yisC&pg=PA24&lpg=PA24&dq=bmp+squad+leader&source=bl&ots=epAOthRskO&sig=HcU2bjIyxVHBPzUhSHydf0fmiWE&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=bmp%20squad%20leader&f=false
http://www.wk2ammo.com/showthread.php?3203-20x139-shells-for-the-HS-820-(Oerlikon-KAD)-amp-Rh-202-gun
http://www.rheinmetall-defence.com/en/media/editor_media/rm_defence/publicrelations/pressemitteilungen/2013_1/2013_Rheinmetall_IDEX_Medium_Calibre_Ammunition.pdf

Bibliography

Soviet Bloc Elite Forces By Steven J. Zaloga (unreliable)

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