- Yes, I think this would be a nice addition
- Maybe
- Unsure
- I don’t think we need this vehicle in-game
Disclaimer
Update (As of March 24th, 2023) - Name of the vehicle in suggestion changed to BRM-1KM as more legitimate sources of information on the vehicles name have been found. The original disclaimer will be retained as while I never found any sources prior to making this suggestion of anyone else calling it the BRM-1K Model 2021 some English websites refer to it as the BRM-1K Model 2021 so I have decided to leave it.
The following bellow is the original disclaimer and has been left unedited so keep in mind that everything written bellow was made before I found any more credible sources on the vehicles name
The vehicle itself is not officially called BRM-1K Model 2021 this is a substitute name I have decided to give the vehicle here to avoid confusion when referring to the older original BRM-1K, it does have other names online as it is called the upgraded BRM-1K, modernized BRM-1K and BRM-1KM which have been used online, however none of these appear to be official names even with the BRM-1KM name which would seem like it would be the official designation the only official designation I have found for it so far is just BRM-1K as even Russian sources call it the upgraded or modernized BRM-1K, the issue however is that since it shares the name with the original version of the vehicle it complicates things as it might lead to some confusion between the older and the modernized vehicles. In order to at least differentiate these vehicles from the rest I decided to just refer to the vehicle as BRM-1K Model 2021 as it was revealed in 2021 and since it doesn’t seem to have proper official designation I decided to give it a name similar for differentiation to how other Russian/Soviet tanks have been named over their production run such as T-72B Obr. 1984 (or Model 1984) and T-72B Obr. 1985 (or Model 1985) due to said lack of new name/designation which would normally come with such a modernization, plus I don’t intend to call it BRM-1KM because it could end up being called something else however calling this vehicle the 2021 model would still be more accurate if a new name was actually announced was not BRM-1KM calling it the 2021 model of the BRM-1K would still be an accurate name to represent it currently. (There’s a chance that it is called the BRM-1KM already but I rather not take such risk as I don’t have enough evidence that would confirm it being designated the BRM-1KM)
Background and History
The BRM-1KM is a major modernization of the old Soviet era BRM-1K armored reconnaissance vehicle which was first revealed in 2021. Originally the vehicle did not go by any new name with the modernization at first so at the original time of making this suggestion referred to the vehicle in this suggestion in particular as the BRM-1K Model 2021 as their were other names already for the vehicle (including BRM-1KM) however no legitimate and credible sources could be found at the time that could confirm it’s official name leading to the BRM-1K Model 2021 used originally here mainly to not confuse the vehicle with the original model however as of March 2023 I have managed to find more legitimate sources to what it’s name is.
The vehicle now known as the BRM-1KM was first revealed in 2021 Army expo, while the vehicle resembled the BMP-1AM which itself is still relatively new modernization the vehicle was clearly not a BMP-1 however based off the modernization of the BMP-1AM we can deduct that alongside the work for creating the BMP-1AM it was decided that at some point or another that this would be followed by a similar modernization for the BRM-1K as it is confirmed that the modernization was made along similar lines. Going back to the fall of the Soviet Union the now Russian federation has plenty of equipment to still go around however it was clear that due to the ability to no longer afford the same military spending as before the Russian federation focused less on continuing programs that were started by the Soviet Union to either the same extent or all together, as well as focusing on maintaining existing equipment where possible as what new vehicles programs which they complete did would not all be possible to produce in large numbers to replace the vast array of older existing Soviet equipment. One of these cases was the BRM-3K Rys which entered service in 1995, this vehicle was designed to supplement the existing fleet of BRM-1K armored reconnaissance vehicles as the vehicle itself was not as capable as would be preferred by the 1990’s, as such they decided to take the BMP-3 and modify the design which would allow it to perform the role of the BRM-1K but with various improvements such as an auto cannon which was stabilized, and the vehicle hade thermal sights , however due to it’s sheer cost the BRM-3K Rys was not able to fully replace the BRM-1K, as such unlike the BMP-1 which could be gradually place into storage due to having successors in the form of the BMP-2 and BMP-3 the BRM-1K remained in active service with the Russian federation.
As the years went of the BRM-1K abilities became more antiquated however as much as the Russians would have like to they were still unable to properly replace it with a newer vehicle however it was clear that something had to be done, as such work was undertaken as early as the 2000’s to try and modernize the BRM-1K with various purposes including adding a 30mm autocannon, with proper work probably starting at the same time or during the work done towards modernizing the BMP-1 into the BMP-1AM going off the fact of how similar the modernizations are. What would result from this was a vehicle which radically resembled the BMP-1AM unsurprisingly though of course there were major noticeable difference between them as the BRM-1KM still had less firing ports, the turret was located more the rear, the vehicle had a large foldable antenna at the rear of the vehicle, and of course the presence of a new radar on the turret which like the BMP-1AM was based of the turret found on the BTR-82A as it is now armed with an 2A72 30mm autocannon which has 300 rounds available to the vehicle and a coaxial PKTM 7.62mm machine with 2,000 rounds available. The vehicles new radar is a much smaller 1L111M-1 radar which is located atop the turret, another visual difference between the BMP-1AM and the BRM-1K Model 2021 is the presence of stowage bins on the sides of the vehicle which the BMP-1AM lacks as well as the location of the log being as it originally was on the BRM-1K due to the large rear antenna. The vehicle itself retains all 6 crew positions it originally had however the vehicle itself has replaced it’s old equipment as well as other internal changes such as the switch from the UTD-20 engine to the more reliable UTD-20S1 engine of the BMP-2 as was also done on the BMP-1AM, the crew capacity itself was also lowered down to 5 with the turret deleting the commander position in the turret. Due to the vehicle being so new, very few vehicles are known to have been modernized so far with at least a confirmed maximum of 8 based on photos (at the time this suggestion was originally made). Despite being a major modernization for the BRM-1K it should also be noted that the vehicle itself has already been stated to be a stopgap measure.
Specifications
Weight - 14.2 tons
Crew - 5
Engine -
UTD-20S1 6-cylinder 4-stroke V-shaped airless-injection water-cooled diesel (300 hp at 2,600 rpm)
Max speed -
65 km/h on road
45 km/h off road
7 km/h in water
Fire control system -
TKN-4GA-01 combined day-night sighting system
Radios -
R-168-100KB
R-168-25U2
R-168 UPS-2
Observation radar -
1L111M-1 radar
Main armament - 30mm 2A72 auto cannon (300 rounds)
Gun elevation - +70/-5 degrees
Coaxial machine gun - 7.62mm PKTM machine gun (2,000 Rounds)
Smoke grenades -
6 x 81mm 902V Tucha smoke grenade dischargers
Armor -
Hull armor
19 mm hull front
16 - 18 mm sides
16 mm rear
6 mm top
Sources
Spoiler
Image Sources