Cate's Research-Investigation Bureau

The BMPT was created with the efforts of UKBTM, now known as UralVagonZavod, led by Boris Domnim with the participation of specialists of the NTC of the Main Armored Vehicle Directorate, the Military Academy of Armored Troops and the Military Academy named after M.V.Frunze.  The project had several main problems, those being, overall weapon systems and general layout. To solve these problems, UKBTM created several different prototypes that featured different weapon systems and layouts.  One of the intermediate prototypes shown during the Lower Tagil vehicle presentation in the year 2000, had a single 30mm 2A42 autocannon paired with a 7,62mm machinegun, 4 'Kornet' ATGMs and 2 remote-controlled 30mm AG-17A automatic grenade launchers, taken from an aviation arsenal. The gunner was provided with a combined day/night sight, and the commander's position was equipped with his own independent panoramic sight.  Additionally, the FCS featured a ballistics computer and several wea...

The Uraltransmash enterprise of the Uralvagonzavod concern at the MILEX-2021 exhibition signed an agreement with the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Belarus for the repair of 2S3M Acacia self-propelled howitzers. The machines will be delivered to the customer in 2022. "During the execution of the contract, the repair of the artillery part and the anti-rollback device will be carried out, the engine and body of the vehicle will also be repaired and upgraded" explained Dmitry Semizorov, General Director of Uraltransmash JSC.  Taken from: Rostec Goscorperation

The T-72B3 underwent many different upgrade programs over the years since its first appearance in 2011. This includes the usage of different engines, a variety of different ERA packages like Relikt and Kontakt-5, utilization of soft bag ERA, slat armour encasing the engine bay, mounting of CITV on a small batch of T-72B3 tanks in 2014 for Tank Biathlon. These upgrades being the most common, overshadow one specific variant of the T-72B3.  T-72B3 equipped with Arena-M (T09-A6). This variant was first shown in 2013 during the RAE expo in Lower Tagil, Russia. While only being a mockup, it gave a good idea of how the vehicle will look, if it ever mounts such a system. Two years later, during the RAE-2015, the vehicle was shown again.   In 2019, an image appeared on the internet, showing a T-72B3 with Arena-M. It is presumed to be the prototype variant that is underground testing.       T-72B3 Obr.2016 with Arena-M being prepared to cross a water  To th...

  Iveco LMV equipped with an ELBIT RCWS spotted in Vienna, Austria 24.06.2021 The Iveco LMV was procured by the Austrian government in 2009 under a 121 million dollar contract.  Such vehicles featured the ELBIT RCWS that was part of the contract. In October of 2015, the vehicles were delivered to the Austrian HEER.   Originally, Austria wanted to replace their old fleet of 150 "Horesement" that were in service at the time.  Iveco LMV comes standard with:  Run-flat tires Central tire inflation system  Anti-mine seats Reverse camera  Air conditioning  NBC protection system  Radar absorbing paint Currently, the Austrian Armed forces use these vehicles for; transport, patrol, command and reconnaissance.   References Used: HEER

T-72B3 tanks equipped with self-made drives for opening the cover of the multi-channel thermal imaging sight "Sosna-U". Apparently, the sight cover rotates on the lower bolt, the rod is attached to the cover with one end, the other to the drive of the brush of the sight-rangefinder 1A40, allowing the gunner to open the housing cover from the inside of the tank without exposing himself outside.  Taken from: VK-Milinfo

Nona equipped with "Nakidka" "Nakidka" was shown for the first time during the "Ural Arms Expo-2000".  "Nakidka" consists of a special synthetic thermal insulation material, the temperature of the outer surface corresponds to the temperature of the surrounding air. The use of the "Nakida" allows you to reduce the probability of detecting a tank by infrared homing heads by 2-3 times. In all radar ranges, the visibility of the combat vehicle is reduced by up to 10 times. When observing a vehicle that is equipped with the "Nakidka" through either a  radio-thermal channel, the silhouette of the vehicle merges with the surrounding area.    a) Tank sized object without "Nakidka" - b) Tank sized object with "Nakidka" When observing a vehicle without the use of a thermal imaging system or radar-based system, the "Nakidka" package barely changes the visual appearance of the vehicle.  Vehicles observed thro...

 The 247th Guards amphibious Assault Caucasian Cossack Regiment of the Airborne Forces in Stavropol received a battalion set of modern armoured vehicles (31 BMD-4M and 8 BTR-MDM). In accordance with the state program of equipping formations and military units of the Airborne Forces with the latest models of weapons, military and special equipment (VVST), the 247th Guards Airborne Assault Caucasian Cossack Regiment of the 7th Guards Airborne Assault (mountain) Division of the Airborne Forces received a battalion set of military equipment. The battalion set of combat vehicles of the new generation BMD-4M and BTR MDM "Shell" - the tenth in a row, which entered service with the Airborne Forces over the past few years. The new equipment will be transferred to the military personnel of the amphibious assault battalion stationed in the city of Stavropol. Taken from: Milinfo

A tracked version of the PRP-5 mobile reconnaissance module has been created for the Russian Army. The earlier PRP-5 variant was featured on the BTR-82, this year, the entire module has been mounted on the BMP-3 chassis, which has been used extensively to field different turret modules.  The PRP-5 was first shown at the military parade in Tula on May 9 of this year. It is known that this armoured vehicle will primarily be fielded for targeting missile and artillery systems of the ground forces. To do this, it was equipped with the most modern equipment, including thermal imaging equipment and a radar station. A 12.7 mm machine gun is also available to deal with various targets. It is planned to replace the outdated equipment of previous generations developed in the 70-80 years with a mobile reconnaissance point. Taken from: Vestnik ,