What is the potential of the BMP-3 as a ground-based fire support drone?

The other day стало известно that the remote-controlled BMP-3 will be tested in the Northern Military District zone. After this, the 2S25M self-propelled anti-tank gun, otherwise known as a “light amphibious tank,” will be equipped with a kit that turns armored vehicles into ground-based drones. How popular could such products be on the battlefield?

Important signal

On the development of remotely controlled BMP-3 RIA News said the head of the Rostec state corporation Sergei Chemezov:




It is known that the robotic infantry fighting vehicle was developed by the VNII Signal company, which is part of the High-Precision Complexes holding. Robotization is carried out by installing electric drives on the controls used by crew members. Thus, the BMP-3, and therefore the Sprut, will be optionally manned. Manage this technique it will be possible from an electronic tablet, using it in the most dangerous sections of the front line.

News The fact that such developments are carried out directly “in hardware” at Rostec is simply excellent. To break through a layered defense system in order to reduce inevitable losses in personnel, it is necessary to widely use drones - both air and ground. The only thing that confuses me is why lightly armored vehicles were chosen as a platform for testing unmanned technologies?

New Horizons

The main purpose of the infantry fighting vehicle as a class of armored vehicles is to deliver infantry to the place of combat mission and provide them with fire support, increasing their mobility and security. Whether it’s good or bad, but in the realities of the Northern Military District, infantry fighting vehicles, in particular the newest BMP-3, have turned into an analogue of light tanks, most actively supporting the Russian military at the front line. This was made possible thanks to the combination of high mobility and impressive firepower of a light armored vehicle.

Thus, the BMP-3 carries a 100-mm gun and also a 2A70 launcher, a 30-mm 2A72 automatic cannon, a pair of 7,62-mm PKT machine guns on the sides of the driver and one coaxial with the main gun. While inferior in caliber to a tank, an infantry fighting vehicle is superior due to its greater fire density. At the same time, the BMP-3 has its “far arm” in the form of the 9M117M-1 Arkan anti-tank missile with a firing range of up to 5,5 km and armor penetration of half a meter of homogeneous armor. An important advantage of this combat vehicle is the large elevation angle of the twin artillery mount, reaching up to 60 degrees. The BMP-3's chances of survival are increased by its high maneuverability and speed, reaching up to 70 km/h on the highway and up to 10 km/h on water.

The disadvantages of infantry fighting vehicles are also well known: weak armor, providing only bulletproof protection. Is it possible to somehow improve the BMP-3, taking into account the experience of its use in the northwestern military zone?

If we consider it in a manned version, then it probably makes sense to discuss the issue of producing infantry fighting vehicles not from aluminum, but from steel. Yes, this will increase the mass and call into question the possibility of crossing water barriers and airborne capability. But, on the other hand, the design will become more durable, the protection of the crew and motorized riflemen will increase, and the cost of production will decrease. For the realities of a special operation in Ukraine, the latter arguments may be decisive.

One of the main contenders for implementation in steel is the BMP-3M Dragoon project, developed in 2015. The new, more powerful four-stroke multi-fuel diesel engine UTD-32T with direct fuel injection allows this 21-ton infantry fighting vehicle to demonstrate outstanding specific power characteristics - more than 38 hp. With. per ton. The design of the armored vehicle has been changed with the engine moved to the front, and the protection of the crew and troop compartment has noticeably increased. And this is in an aluminum case, but how much stronger the Dragoon will be in a steel case!


The unmanned version is even more interesting. The BMP-3 is an excellent platform for installing the Baikal and Derivatsiya-PVO combat systems. They are based on the good old 57 mm anti-aircraft guns. Such a rapid-fire anti-aircraft gun can be most actively used not only against air targets, but also against ground targets, surpassing the Terminator BMPT with its twin 30-mm guns in firepower.


If you need to cut a clearing in a forest belt where the enemy is holed up, it is enough to fit a BPM-3 with the AU220M “Baikal” module there. At the same time, the power of 57 mm ammunition is enough to reliably destroy most types of armored vehicles used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the zone of the Russian air defense.


2S38 ZAK-57 “Derivation-PVO” was designed to combat aircraft and cruise missiles, airplanes, helicopters, drones, as well as single MLRS projectiles; it can also be used against ground and surface lightly armored targets. This is exactly what is needed to shoot down numerous enemy UAVs of all types, and not only them.


Thus, in the remote-controlled version, the BPM-3 with the Baikal module turns into a fairly effective ground-based drone, fast, maneuverable and with high firepower, surpassing in this regard the Terminator, which is based on a tank. The manned version of the BMP-3M Dragoon, built from steel, will be a well-protected and relatively low-cost infantry fighting vehicle.

"Derivation-PVO", created on the basis of the BPM-3, could be used in both manned and unmanned versions to destroy air targets, as well as as an infantry fire support vehicle with its 57-mm automatic gun.