(Damascus) The Russians, on seeing how poorly their tanks faired in Afghan and Chechen urban settings, decided to rectify their shortcomings by designing a vehicle to support any future endeavours in built up areas. Thus in 2002, the BMPT Terminator was unveiled by Russian arms company Uralvagonzavod.
Based around the chassis of a T-72 tank, the 125-mm main gun had been replaced by twin 30-mm cannon, twin 30-mm grenade launchers and quadruple 140-mm missile launches. In order to operate effectively in a fast moving urban setting, the crew was increased to 5 and the armour protection of the BMPT was superior to the T-90. The Russian plan of action is for 2 BMPT to support each Main Battle Tank (MBT). However, with the advent of the new Armata tank and its supporting class of vehicles (Armata Universal Combat Platform), the Russians decided to upgrade the idea of the BMPT by sticking the weapons system onto the new platform.
Being the enterprising people that they are, Uralvagonzavod decided to market a BMPT package to those countries which use the T-72. Which is why the other week, the BMPT-72 was displayed to the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Unlike the original the BMPT-72, this is only a retrofit package and thus with a crew of only 3. The two 30-mm grenade launchers have been omitted, resulting in a less effective combat vehicle than the original. The thing is, the BMPT has arrived a little too late for the Syrian conflict. Oh, don't get me wrong, it should do a sterling work, but if it had been made available to the Syrians in 2015, then their tank losses would have been reduced somewhat.
Based around the chassis of a T-72 tank, the 125-mm main gun had been replaced by twin 30-mm cannon, twin 30-mm grenade launchers and quadruple 140-mm missile launches. In order to operate effectively in a fast moving urban setting, the crew was increased to 5 and the armour protection of the BMPT was superior to the T-90. The Russian plan of action is for 2 BMPT to support each Main Battle Tank (MBT). However, with the advent of the new Armata tank and its supporting class of vehicles (Armata Universal Combat Platform), the Russians decided to upgrade the idea of the BMPT by sticking the weapons system onto the new platform.
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President #Assad visit to #Russia Hmeymim air base in #Syria reveals presence of new BMPT-72 Terminator 2 pic.twitter.com/TzoDOAqA6y— Joseph Dempsey (@JosephHDempsey) 27 June 2017
Being the enterprising people that they are, Uralvagonzavod decided to market a BMPT package to those countries which use the T-72. Which is why the other week, the BMPT-72 was displayed to the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Unlike the original the BMPT-72, this is only a retrofit package and thus with a crew of only 3. The two 30-mm grenade launchers have been omitted, resulting in a less effective combat vehicle than the original. The thing is, the BMPT has arrived a little too late for the Syrian conflict. Oh, don't get me wrong, it should do a sterling work, but if it had been made available to the Syrians in 2015, then their tank losses would have been reduced somewhat.
