The photo of the armored vehicles was published by the press service of the Airborne Assault Troops Command, mil.in.ua reports.
Modernized vehicles received a turret from the Soviet BMD-2 airborne combat vehicle.
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For the first time the classical vehicle was shown during the events dedicated to the Day of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The BRM-1K is a combat reconnaissance vehicle developed on the chassis of the BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle, which received a new wide two-seater turret. The standard BRM-1K is armed with an outdated 73-mm 2A28 Grom cannon and a 7.62-mm PKT machine gun, which are unable to provide high-quality fire support to infantry units on the battlefield nowadays.
Combat reconnaissance vehicles for the paratroopers received the BMD-2 turret, armed with a 30-mm 2A42 automatic cannon, a 7.62-mm PKT machine gun and the Fagot anti-tank missile system, which is capable of effective combat with light armor and enemy manpower.
Russian design bureaus worked out this modernization in 1997. At that time, they tried to update the BMP-1 inventory by replacing old weapons. That’s how the BMP-1-30 Razbezhka appeared.
Overall, the small one-seater turret of the BMD-2 fits very well in the new place. As a result of the modernization, with minimal modifications and intervention in the design, the firing power was increased by changing the old 2A28 Grom gun to a modern 30-mm gun.
However, who carried out the modernization in Ukraine and where did the russia’s BMD-2 turrets come from
Such decision requires serious intervention in the structure. A number of operations require the professional support of engineers and special equipment that ordinary repair battalions do not have. So, the workers of Ukrainian armored enterprises are thought to have contributed to the modernized vehicles of the paratroopers.
Presumably, the source of the turrets is old Ukrainian and trophy Russian BMD-2. The Soviet BMD-1 and BMD-2 amphibious combat vehicles have a small operational life due to a number of design solutions, which affects their service life. Also, an additional problem in the maintenance of these machines and the reason for their removal from the ranks of the Armed Forces is a severe shortage of spare parts.
Dozens of amphibious assault vehicles with an exhausted undercarriage resource that cannot be serviced by the Armed Forces of Ukraine have obviously filled the sumps, but their turrets and combat compartment are still a valuable resource that they decided to use to strengthen the existing fleet of armored vehicles.
The decision to replace the BRM-1K turret with the BMD-2 turret is a logical attempt to improve the existing fleet of armored vehicles and makes sense in the current conditions, however, this does not make it an analogue of the BMP-2. A single turret of an airborne vehicle with a 30-mm gun cannot stand any competition with a two-seater BMP-2 turret either from the point of view of ergonomics, or from the point of view of the ability of the gunner-operator to observe the battlefield and control the weapon at the same time.
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