Russia rolled out the "Terminator" or BMP-T for testing during maneuvers with the 90th
Tank Division.
According to reports, Russia is testing eight "Terminator" vehicles.
It plans on also exporting the vehicle.
The "Terminator" is designed to defeat anti-tank forces and is armed with several types of
weapons.
The platform is capable of engaging three different targets at once with its four weapons
.
It is also reportedly having a very strong protection.
The Russians have sent one BMP-T to Syria for testing and now marking the design as
combat-proven.
"Terminator" is designed to significantly help increase the combat effectiveness of
tank units and decrease their losses from enemy close-combat assets.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes how good is Russian "Terminator" combat vehicle?
Let's get started.
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The BMP-T unofficially called 'Terminator' is an armored fighting vehicle (AFV), designed
and manufactured by the Russian company Uralvagonzavod.
The vehicle was designed for supporting tanks and other AFVs in urban areas.
The history of the BMPT's development can be traced back to the Soviet-Afghan War.
The need for a vehicle with all these requirements became even more evident during the First
Chechen War.
It was formally conceived after Russia suffered heavy losses when confronting Chechen guerrillas.
It is interesting to note that in 1994, Russian forces significant losses in the city of Grozny
- actually they were decimated.
As reported, on 31 Dec, 131st 'Maikop' Brigade lost 20 out of 26 tanks as well as 102 out
of 120 other armored vehicles
Russian tanks designed for open terrain were unable to raise or lower their main gun barrels
high enough to engage Chechnyan anti-tank gunners.
Without proper infantry support, they were knocked out one after the other.
"Terminator" was designed to counter this problem by driving alongside armored forces
inside urban environments.
The BMP-T is mounted on the T-90 tank chassis and is heavily armored with reactive armor.
The protection of the BMPT is superior to most MBTs, as active and passive protection
is used, and additional armor is distributed to the hull of the vehicle.
Multiple prototypes of a tank support combat vehicle were created prior to the design of
the current BMP-T
"Terminator" is powered by a V-92S2 diesel engine which produces 1,000 hp or 736 kW
It has an operational range of 550 km or 340 mi and can reach a maximum sped of 60 km/h
or 37 mph.
"Terminator" has a crew of five which consists of a vehicle commander, a driver, a gunner,
and two grenade launcher operators.
NBC protection is provided to the crew to ensure survival against radiation, chemical
and biological weapons.
As an option, the BMPT can be fitted with mine-clearing devices such as the KMT-7 or
KMT-8 mine sweepers.
The "Terminator" is designed to primarily defeat anti-tank forces.
It was planned that when used in the urban environment each main battle tank will be
deployed with two Terminators and in open terrain that ratio will be reversed with one
BMP-T protecting two main battle tanks.
The "Terminator" has 4 weapons to counter the opponent's Anti Tank forces.
Terminator has four Ataka ATGM launchers as a set of primary armaments to defeat enemy
tanks and infantry.
Only one missile is carried for each of the launchers without any additional ones stowed
away.
Two ATGM launchers are located on each side of the turret.
The 9M120 Ataka missile has anti-tank, anti-personnel and anti-aircraft variants; the first two
being the most commonly used by the BMP-T. This missile's average speed for all variants
is 400 m/s when reaching a target located 5.8 km from the launcher for a flight time
of 14.5 seconds.
The Ataka has an operational range of up to 6 km or 3.7 miles and travels at a supersonic
speed of 550 m/s.
The platform has twin autocannons which have a combined fire rate of 600 rounds per minute.
A total of 850 rounds of ready use ammunition can be carried.
The twin 2A42s are stabilized in the vertical and horizontal planes.
One of the guns fires armor-piercing rounds while the other fires anti-personnel rounds.
A wide range of ammunition is used by the 2A42 autocannon and they include High Explosive-Tracer
(HE-T), Armor-piercing discarding sabot (APDS), High Explosive Fragmentation (HE-FRAG) and
Armor-Piercing-Tracer (AP-T).
These rounds have effective ranges between 2,500 m and 4,000 m depending on the variant.
The muzzle velocity of the projectiles is 960 m/s.
\ grenade launchers[.
A total of 600 rounds of 30 mm grenades are
carried for both grenade launchers.
There is no reloading for the grenade launchers because each one holds 300 rounds in a single
belt.
Only vertical stabilization is provided for the grenade launchers.
An effective range of 1,700 m is provided while the kill radius of the 30 mm grenades
is 7 meters.
A 7.62 mm PKTM machine gun is mounted coaxially with the main armament and holds 2,000 rounds.
It has a range of 4,000 m.
"Terminator" looks intimidating and it seems to be straight out of a Hollywood sci-fi movie.
It actually has no counterpart in the world.
But is it necessary?
In Iraq, the United States armor forces were very effective and were able to make quick
inroads.
It didn't suffer near the casualties that the Russians did in Grozny
The Russian realized that the problem was not due to the equipment but was more to do
with the tactics.
In 2010, the Russian military approved the vehicle's use but rejected the decision to
fund it calling the vehicle unnecessary.
But in 2017, things changed and the Russian government ordered 10 vehicles.
Nonetheless, there were issues with the initial design and the latest testing seems to be
directed towards ironing out those.
Russia is marketing the "Terminator" for foreign nations.
The sales pitch is that one Russian Terminator can replace a motorized rifle platoon of 40
soldiers and around 6 armored vehicles.
Though the firepower of "Terminator" is impressive it can't do the job of 40 soldiers & 6 armor
vehicles at the same time.
Viewers may note that a "Terminator" cannot engage the targets in a disintegrated manner
from different directions like a small group of soldiers with supporting vehicles can.
It remains to be seen how things pan out.