BMP-2 special edition for Russia's most elite division
The Russian Ministry of Defense recently announced that the Taman Guards Motorized Infantry Division has been fully equipped with BMP-2M Berezhok B05S011 armored personnel carriers.
The Taman Guards Division, tasked with protecting the capital Moscow, has completed upgrading its BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles to the BMP-2M Berezhok standard with the B05S011 modernization package, the release said.
The B05S011 equipment package is a product of the Konstruktoskoye Byuro Mashynostroyeniya (KBM) design bureau, it was first introduced at the Army 2015 Military Forum, this is a solution inherited from the old design of the KBP Design Bureau.
The most noticeable external feature of the B05S011 upgrade package is that the BMP-2M is equipped with a thermal-infrared sight similar to the Sosna-U mounted on the T-72B3 and T-90 main battle tanks, along with a meteorological sensor column, allowing for clearer target recognition for more accurate shooting.
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| BMP-2M Berezhok infantry fighting vehicle with equipment package B05S011. |
The firepower of the BMP-2M Berezhok B05S011 infantry fighting vehicle, in addition to the traditional 30mm 2A42 main gun, is also supplemented with 2 9M120 Ataka anti-tank missile launchers.
Ataka missiles can destroy all types of tanks, armored vehicles that are modern or will appear in the near future, in addition to bunkers, ships and even low-flying aerodynamic targets at speeds below 400 km/h in all day/night conditions.
In addition, the vehicle is also equipped with side armor with composite box armor panels and cage armor surrounding the sides. Now the BMP-2M can block RPG-7 anti-tank bullets while the weight is still at an acceptable level, not affecting mobility too much.
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| BMP-2M Berezhok B05S011 infantry fighting vehicle side view |
It is known that this B05S011 upgrade package was released after the B05YA01 package. With the old plan, in addition to the main gun 2A42, the vehicle was also equipped with a 30mm AG-30 automatic grenade launcher on the turret.
Overall, the firepower of the two upgrade packages is equivalent, but the B05S011 provides a much better level of protection, which is the main reason why the BMP-2M version with the equipment package was chosen by the Russian Army for large-scale deployment.
The mass upgrade of BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles and in the future BMP-1 according to the B05S011 equipment package has the effect of saving a significant budget for the Russian Army, while it still fully meets the requirements of modern warfare.
