BMP-1U "Shkval": The Storm of the Steppe!

Would you like the BMP-1U to be added to the game?
  • Yes
  • No
0 voters
How should it be added?
  • Tech Tree
  • Premium
  • Event
  • Battlepass
  • Squadron
  • I said no
0 voters
What BR should it have?
  • 8.3
  • 8.7
  • 9.0
  • 9.3
  • Other (comment)
  • I said no
0 voters

BMP-1U “Shkval”: The Storm of the Steppe!

History:

NOTE: This will be focusing on the history of the vehicle with Turkmenistan. For a more detailed history on the vehicle’s development, I suggest checking out the Ukrainian suggestion post by @Yontzee linked below in Sources.

Turkmenistan, like most post-Soviet nations, was left in somewhat of a difficult position militarily following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Being left with only what vehicles were stationed there at the time, they had to make do with fairly outdated equipment, even by 20th century standards. T-72 Urals and T-72As backed up by BMP-1s and a few BMP-2s would not be capable of protecting a nation into the 21st century. As a result, Turkmenistan has invested heavily in defense, modernizing their old vehicles and purchasing new ones. This resulted in a number of international military contracts with nations as varied as China, Israel, Serbia, and Ukraine. The Ukrainian contract has proven to be one of the most interesting, with three vehicle modification packages being purchased: the T-72UMG, BTR-80U “Grom”, and BMP-1U “Shkval”.

Signed sometime in the early 2000s, the contract with Ukraine aimed to modernize several obsolescent vehicles in the service of the Turkmenistan Ground Forces. One of those was the BMP-1, a vehicle which, by that time, was hopelessly outdated even with the BMP-1P upgrade. While Turkmenistan did possess a number of newer BMP-2s, the majority of their IFVs were older BMP-1s, and so it made sense to modernize them to keep the fleet strong. By that time, many upgrade packages had been developed for the BMP-1, improving everything from firepower to mobility to protection, and from many nations, but given Turkmenistan’s minimal economy, the upgrade had to be extremely cost-effective. The one chosen was the Ukrainian BMP-1U “Shkval”, a basic upgrade which simply replaced the turret with a new unmanned one, bringing the firepower up to modern standards. Despite being so simple, it has proven to be highly effective, with not only Turkmenistan but also Chad, Georgia, and Ukraine themselves putting it into service. Unlike the T-72UMG and BTR-80U “Grom”, it appears as though the vast majority of Turkmen BMP-1s have been upgraded to this standard, though some do remain in the BMP-1P configuration. Having been combat-proven by other nations, this appears to be a sensible upgrade to keep Turkmenistan’s BMP-1 fleet in service for the foreseeable future.

Description:

The BMP-1U is a very simple upgrade, focusing entirely on the firepower of the vehicle. Beyond replacing the turret, nothing else about the BMP-1 has been altered. It retains the same UTD-20 V6 diesel engine, 5-speed manual transmission, thin armor, and crew layout (driver, commander, gunner). The gunner is, however, moved down into the hull, as the turret is unmanned. Said new turret does not alter the weight significantly, so power/weight remains the same, as does the top speed of 65 km/h (40 mph) on land and 7 km/h (4 mph) in water.

The turret in question is the KBA-105 “Shkval” unmanned combat module. It is equipped with a number of weapons which bring the BMP-1U up to a more modern standard, as well as a vastly improved FCS. The primary armament is the 30mm ZTM-1 autocannon, a Ukrainian derivative of the Soviet 2A72 found on the BMP-3, BMD-4, and BTR-80A. It features a dual-feed system, allowing two different belts to be selected from at an instant. It is capable of firing four projectile types: 3UBR8 APDS-T, 3UBR6 AP-T, 3UOR6 HEF-I, and 3UOF8 F-T. Mounted coaxially to it is a 7.62mm KT-7.62 machine gun, a Ukrainian derivative of the PKT.
For dealing with heavily armored targets, a twin launcher for 9M113 Konkurs ATGMs is mounted to the right side of the turret. It can also utilize the enhanced 9M113M Konkurs-M, featuring a tandem warhead for enhanced penetration against ERA. Two more missiles are carried internally for a total of four.
Lastly, a 30mm KBA-117 automatic grenade launcher is mounted to the left side of the turret, providing high-explosive fire support against infantry and soft-skinned vehicles.
The entire turret is fully stabilized, allowing for accurate fire on the move.

The fire-control system has also vastly upgraded. Integrated into the “Shkval” turret is the OTP-20 Cyclops-1 FCS, featuring the Tandem-2 optronic targeting system which includes a 1st generation thermal camera for the gunner, integrated laser rangefinder, and IR searchlight. The gunner can also use the PZU-7M optical periscope with a zoom of 1.2x and an FOV of 50°. The commander retains the TKN-3B day/night sight from the BMP-1, and the driver retains the TVNO-2 day/night sight. Finally, six smoke grenade launchers are mounted at the front of the turret and the ESS function is retained.

Specifications:

Spoiler

Main Armament: 30mm ZTM-1 autocannon

Secondary Armament: 1x 7.62mm KT-7.62 machine gun

Tertiary Armament: 2x 9M113 Konkurs/9M113M Konkurs-M ATGM launchers, 1x 30mm KBA-117 automatic grenade launcher

Ammo Count: 360 30mm cannon rounds, 116 30mm grenades, 2,500 7.62mm rounds, 4 ATGMs

Gunner Sights: Tandem-2 1st gen thermal camera, PZU-7M optical periscope (1.2x zoom, 50° FOV)

FCS: LRF, IR spotlight, SVU-500-C stabilizer

Elevation and Depression: -4/+60°

Smoke: 6x 81mm 3D6 smoke grenade launchers and ESS

All other specifications identical to a standard BMP-1

Gallery:

Unfortunately, there seem to be very few available images of the BMP-1U in Turkmen service, so some images of Ukrainian BMP-1Us will be included for completeness.

Spoiler

p5

BMP-1U-Turkmen

2792363542_4806cfe980_o

Ukrainian combat module KBA-105 Shkval_15

If there is anything I have missed or gotten incorrect, please let me know! I hope you enjoyed reading this, and I hope you will also check out my other suggestions! Thanks, and have a great day.


Sources:

Spoiler

BMP-1U: The Omni-Hunter
https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/10/friendship-through-arms-turkmenistans.html
Snaps From Ashgabat: Turkmenistan’s 2021 Military Parade - Oryx
BMP-1U Shkval (2001)
БМП-1У — Вікіпедія

4 Likes

+1 Is there any differences between the BMP-1U in Turkmenistan and the ones in Ukrainian service?

Nope. Same setup.

1 Like

I see. Hopefully the 1U makes it in game someday

1 Like

+1, always open to news countries in the game, and Turkmenistan has its place. Maybe in the Turkish TT ?I dont see it coming for the Russians, and well the Ukrainian TT seems big enough.

1 Like

Actually, I just realized something. The Ukrainian examples sometimes carry the Barrier ATGM rather than the Konkurs. It’s a domestic missile with improved penetration.