Ukraine’s state-owned defense industry concern UrkOboronProm unveiled a new infantry fighting vehicle on Nov. 27, releasing photos and video of it undergoing tests.
The new vehicle, the BMP-1UMD, based on a Soviet-era BMP-1 produced in the 1960s-1980s, is equipped with modern weaponry, a digital fire control system and a German-made engine.
UkrOboronProm said the vehicle’s developers, the Zhytomyr Armor Plant, had enhanced the vehicle’s firepower by installing the Ukrainian-made Stilet combat module, which includes a 30-millimeter automatic cannon, a 30-millimeter automatic grenade launcher, a 7.62-millimeter machine gun, and a Barrier anti-tank missile unit.
“Such an arsenal ensures the vehicle can strike not only manpower and soft-skin vehicles but also hostile tanks at a distance of up to five kilometers,” UkrOboronProm’s press service said. “Firing precision is provided by the Trek-M targeting system, in combination with the SVU-500-ZC weapon stabilizer.”
The upgraded vehicle provides better crew protection and a new secure communications system, its developers say.
“Apart from installing additional armor, a whole raft of measures has been taken to black the BMP-1UMD out of the infrared band. Thanks to this, (this vehicle) is much less visible on thermal scopes.”
The BMP-1UMD weighs 14 tons – just one ton heavier than the BMP-1. The new model has been equipped with a more modern 330-horsepower TCD2013 L64V engine produced by German company Deutz. The engine has a turbocharger and electronic control unit.
“Besides, the German engine has a much longer endurance, it is quieter, more efficient and responsive,” UkrOboronProm’s press service said.
After the factory tests, the new fighting vehicle will be tested by the Ukrainian military before mass production is launched and it is put into service.
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