BMP-3

BMP-3
Current production BMP-3
Type	Infantry fighting vehicle
Place of origin	Soviet Union Russia
Service history
In service	1987–present
Used by	See Operators
Wars	First Chechen War, Yemeni Civil War (2015)
Production history
Manufacturer	Kurganmashzavod
Number built	2,000+
Specifications
Weight	18.7 tonnes (18.4 long tons; 20.6 short tons)
Length	7.14 m (23 ft 5 in)
Width	3.2 m (10 ft 6 in)
Height	2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
Crew	3 (commander, gunner, driver) 7 troopers (+ 2 additional seats)
Armor	Aluminium alloy + steel, 35mm+ frontally, all around small arms fire protection
Main armament	100 mm gun/launcher 2A70 (able to fire shells or the 9M117 Bastion ATGM), 30 mm 2A72
Secondary armament	3×7.62 mm PKT machine guns
Engine	UTD-29M diesel 500 hp (375 kW)
Power/weight	27 hp/tonne
Suspension	torsion bar
Operational range	600 km (370 mi)
Speed	72 km/h (45 mph) (road) 45 km/h (28 mph) (off-road) 10 km/h (6.2 mph) (water)

The BMP-3 is a Soviet amphibious infantry fighting vehicle, successor to the BMP-1 and BMP-2. The abbreviation BMP stands for Boevaya Mashina Pehoty (Боевая Машина Пехоты, literally "Infantry Combat Vehicle").

The design of the BMP-3 or Obyekt 688M can be traced back to the Obyekt 685 light tank prototype with 100 mm gun 2A48-1 from 1975. This vehicle did not enter series production, but the chassis, with a new engine, was used for the next-generation infantry combat vehicle Obyekt 688 from A. Blagonravov's design bureau. The Ob. 688 weapons configuration—an externally mounted 30 mm gun and twin Konkurs ATGM launcher—was rejected; instead the new 2K23 armament system was selected. The resulting BMP-3 was developed in the early 1980s and entered service with the Soviet Army officially in 1987. It was shown for the first time in public during the 1990 Victory Day parade and was given the NATO code IFV M1990/1.

The BMP-3 is designed and produced by the Kurganmashzavod ("Kurgan Machine Building Plant") some variants however are built by the Rubtsovsk Machine Building Plant (RMZ), for example the BRM-3K.

In May 2015, the Russian Defense Ministry signed a three-year contract to receive "hundreds" of BMP-3 vehicles to maintain its armored vehicle force until its replacement, the Kurganets-25, completes research and development. In the process of the BMP-s serial production, the vehicle's design underwent 1,500 amendments.

The BMP-3 saw action in several conflicts.

The BMP-3 saw action with the Russian forces during the First Chechen War.

The BMP-3 also saw action with Emirati forces in the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, where it is currently deployed.