The Kurganets-25 is a new Russian infantry fighting vehicle.
Sometimes this vehicle is simply referred as Kurganets.
In 2011 Russian Ministry of Defense issued a requirement for a successor of the BMP-3
that becomes out dated.
The new IFV was developed alongside a Bumerang wheeled armored personnel carrier.
The whole project was kept in high secrecy.
The Kurganets-25 was first publicly revealed in 2015.
It was planned that Kurganets-25 will replace the ageing BMP-1 and BMP-2 IFVs in service
with the Russian Army.
However these plans are questionable due to funding problems.
As of 2015 only a handful of pre-production vehicles were built.
As of 2017 it is still being tested by its manufacturer.
It is expected that a full-scale production could commence within the next couple of years.
The Kurganets-25 IFV has a welded hull and turret.
Its armor is made of special aluminum alloy.
Vehicle has modular armor with add-on armor modules.
So protection level can be tailored to counter specific threats or to suit mission requirements.
Vehicle has a double hull floor for improved protection against mine blasts.
It has been reported that protection of the Kurganets-25 is superior to that of the BMP-3,
but inferior to that of the M2A3 Bradley.
It seems that this vehicle can be fitted with newly-developed Drozd-2 active protection
system.
Also is seems that it comes with newly developed countermeasures system, the reduces the chance
of being hit by enemy ATGW with semi-automatic guidance.
It might be a slimed-down version of the Shtora, used on the T-90 main battle tank.
Vehicle is fitted with NBC protection system.
The Kurganets-25 has a remotely controlled weapon station.
It is armed with a 30-mm cannon.
This cannon has an effective range of up to 4 km.
Vehicle carries a total of 500 rounds for the cannon, including 160 armor-piercing and
340 high-explosive fragmentation rounds.
There is also a coaxial 7.62-mm machine gun and 4 Kornet-M anti-tank guided missile launchers.
Missiles have a maximum range of 8 - 10 km and can also target helicopters.
In terms of firepower the new IFV looses to the previous BMP-3.
The 100-mm cannon of the BMP-3 was deleted in order to save dimensions and weight.
The same new turret is also used on the Bumerang APC and Armata heavy IFV.
Vehicle has a new fire control system.
The system automatically searches for targets in passive and active modes.
Vehicle also has a thermal imager.
The Kurganets-25 is operated by a crew of 3, including commander, gunner and driver.
It can carry 7 soldiers.
Troops enter and leave the vehicle via rear doors.
Also there are roof hatches for firing and emergency exit.
This new-generation IFV is powered by a diesel engine.
Two engine alternatives are available.
These are 17-liter ChTZ-Uraltrac 2V06 opposite engine, developing 450-510 hp or YaMZ-780
inline engine with two turbochargers, developing 750 hp.
As of early 2017 it is unclear which engine will be fitted on production model.
It is planned that the same engine will be used by Bumerang 8x8 armored personnel carrier.
Engine is mounted at the front of the hull.
It is mated to a 6-speed automatic gearbox.
Vehicle has a hydropneumatic suspension with variable ground clearance.
The Kurganets-25 is fully-amphibious.
On water it is propelled by two waterjets, mounted at the rear.
It has been reported that this vehicle uses new amphibious propulsion technology and has
speed on water of 10 km/h.
It is worth noting that add-on armor blocks provide additional buoyancy and stability
on water.
This infantry fighting vehicle has a capability to operate autonomously for a couple of days,
without the soldiers leaving it.