BMD-1
Encyclopedia : B : BM : BMD : BMD-1
 BMD-1 on display in Kiev | |
| BMD-1 | |
|---|---|
| General characteristics | |
| Crew | 3 (+4 passengers) |
| Length | 6.74 m |
| Width | 2.94 m |
| Height | 1.96 m |
| Weight | 7.5 tonnes |
| Armour and armament | |
| Armour | 23 mm |
| Main armament | 73 mm gun 2A28 |
| Secondary armament | 7.62 mm PKT coaxial machine gun, 2×7.62 mm PKT bow machine guns, AT-3 Sagger ATGM |
| Mobility | |
| Power plant | V6 Diesel 5D-20 240 hp (180 kW) |
| Suspension | torsion-bar |
| Road speed | 70 km/h |
| Power/weight | 32 hp/tonne |
| Range | 320 km |
The BMD-1 is a Soviet airborne infantry fighting vehicle, which was introduced in 1969 and first seen by the West in 1970. BMD stands for Boyevaya Mashina Desanta (Боевая Машина Десанта, literally "Combat Vehicle of the Airborne") [†]. It can be dropped by parachute and although it resembles the BMP-1 it is in fact much smaller. The BMD-1 was used as an IFV by the Red Army's Desant airborne divisions.
Development
In the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis the army was instructed to consider putting more emphasis on means to project power outside of the normal sphere of Soviet influence. As a result there was a major effort to develop the VDV (Soviet airborne forces) as a rapid deployment force. Soviet studies of airborne operations had shown that lightly armed paratroops were unable to deal with armoured forces. This pushed them towards mechanizing the airborne forces.The development of the Il-76 heavy transport aircraft allowed the transport of light armoured vehicles. However the requirement for an airborne drop required a vehicle that weighed less than seven tons. The existing BMP-1 weighed thirteen tonnes, effectively ruling it out. The task of designing the BMD fell to the Volgograd Tractor Plant, which had produced an unsuccessful competitor to the BMP – the Obiekt 914. The BMD design, Obiekt 915, was basically a trimmed down version of the Obiekt 914 – smaller and with less armour, while still keeping the 73 mm main gun. The compromise made is the extremely cramped crew compartment. Even though it can on paper carry four infantrymen, typically this is reduced to three.
Limited production began in 1968. After operational trials it was deployed in limited numbers by 1969.
Air-drop techniques
The BMD was originally dropped under the MKS-350-9 multi-canopy parachute. The intention was to drop the vehicle without the crew. This had always proven problematic, since the crew frequently landed some distance from the vehicle and often had trouble finding it. In the 1970s there were experiments with dropping the BMD with the two key crew members, the driver and gunner, seated inside the vehicle during the descent. The first such test took place in January 1973, and the concept was proved valid in a subsequent series of tests.
A rocket parachute, the PRSM-915, was developed to ensure the vehicle's safe landing. To use the parachute, the BMD is first packed onto a special pallet before takeoff. To drop the BMD, a drogue chute is released that initially drags the BMD out of the Il-76 transport plane. Once clear of the plane a single large main chute opens. The deployment of the main chute triggers the deployment of four long rods which hang beneath the pallet. As soon as the rods touch the ground a retro-rocket fires, slowing the BMD rapidly and giving it a relatively soft landing. The system allows the BMD to be parachuted with the driver and gunner and it entered service in 1975.
An alternative radio location system also exists, where each of the crew is given a radio receiver locked onto a transponder in its particular BMD.
Description
The BMD-1 has the same turret as the BMP-1, armed with a 73 mm gun and a coaxial machine gun. Two other machine guns are mounted in the bow of the hull. An AT-3 Sagger launcher is mounted on the main gun. The BMD-2 is a variant equipped with the turret of the BMP-2, armed with a 30 mm cannon, coaxial machine gun and AT-4 Spigot or AT-5 Spandrel ATGM launchers. Armour thickness is 23 mm on the turret front and 15 mm on the hull front, resistant to small arms fire and shrapnel. The vehicle has electric and manual bilge pumps, a gyro-compass, engine pre-heater, smoke-generating equipment, NBC system and a centralized ethylene-bromide fire-extinguishing system as fitted to other former Soviet armoured vehicles.
The BMD-1's armour was made from cast magnesium alloy, in order to save weight. Combat experience in Afghanistan demonstrated that the armour itself would catch fire and burn fiercely, often killing the crew, when hit with a weapon such as an RPG. Later variants of the BMD had aluminium armour instead.
Because of its small number of crew, the introduction of the BMD led to a reduction in the number of soldiers in an airborne battalion, from 610 to 316 men. The firepower of the BMD also meant that some of the battalion's integral fire support could be done away with.
The Russian military is currently considering replacing the BMD series altogether with the GAZ-3937, a very lightweight wheeled armoured personnel carrier incorporating plastic and carbon fibre in its construction as well as aluminum. The GAZ 3937 can be air-dropped like the BMD, and is considerably lighter, less expensive to manufacture, and easier to maintain. It lacks the heavy armament of the BMD series, and is armed only with a 7.62 mm PKM machine gun in front of the commander's hatch.
Variants
- BMD-1
- * BMD-1P AT-3 Sagger replaced with AT-4 Spigot.
- * BTR-D BMD M1979 - lengthened variant (with 6 rather than 5 road wheels). No turret. Slightly up-armoured at the front. Can carry 10 passengers.
- ** BMD-KShM Command post version of the BTR-D. No bow machine guns.
- ** BTR-D Sterkh UAV carrier. Launches Schmel UAV for reconnaissance or jamming at ranges of 60 km. Entered service in 1990.
- ** BTR-RD Robot Anti tank missile team carrier.
- ** BMD-ODB Satellite communications vehicle. With R-440 satellite communications system.
- ** BRehM-D Repair and recovery vehicle.
- ** 1V118 Reostat Artillery observation post. No turret. Fitted with PSNR-5 (1RL133) Tall Mike radar.
- ** 1V119 Spektr Artillery fire direction for 2S9 Nona. No radar.
- ** 2S9 Nona-S Fitted with 120 mm 2A60 mortar. Entered service 1984.
- ** BTR-ZD Air defence variant. Tows ZSU-23-2, and carried MANPAD missiles.
- BMD-2 New turret with stabilized 2A42 30 mm cannon with 300 rounds (180 AP, 120 HE) with a maximum elevation of 75 degrees. External AT-4/AT-5 missile launcher.
- BMD-3 As BMD-2 with new suspension, new more powerful 2V-06 diesel engine. AG-17 30 mm grenade launcher replaces one of the bow MG's (290 rounds ready, 261 in racks). Very limited numbers (69) deployed 1990 to 1991.
- *BMD-4 Modified chassis with new turret comprising: 100 mm main gun, 30 mm autocannon, 7.62 mm machine gun, and new fire control system.
See also
References
- http://www.aeronautics.ru/archive/armored_vehicles/bmd-1.htm
- Hull, A.W. , Markov, D.R. , Zaloga, S.J. (1999). Soviet/Russian Armor and Artillery Design Practices 1945 to Present. Darlington Productions. ISBN 1-892848-01-5.
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