- Yes
- No (Explain why)
Suggestion No.110
G’day lads. I want to suggest the Currus modified BMP-1, which has it’s turret replaced by Rafael’s OWS-25 RWS with additional Stingers :)
Description:
Spoiler
The BMP-1 is a Soviet designed IFV capable of transporting infantry and providing direct fire, of which Hungary also operated. Normally the BMP-1 has a 73mm gun and anti tank guided missile, but this Currus Rt. modified one replaced the turret with the Rafael OWS-25 RWS system. Additionally, it gets a pair of 2 ready to fire Stingers.
History:
Spoiler
Hungary got the BMP-1 in the 1970s under the Warsaw Pact standardisation and fielded it in the Magyar Nephadsereg as its primary tracked infantry fighting vehicle. The fleet reached more than 500 vehicles and equipped mechanised infantry formations alongside Soviet tanks.
After 1989, the BMP-1 remained in service in the Hungarian armed forces with minimal modernisation due to budget constraints and the continued use of inherited Soviet equipment.
In 2003 the Hungarian government decided to withdraw the BMP-1 from service as part of a defence review, claiming obsolescence and the lack of a military threat. Around 450 vehicles were scheduled for removal from their active inventory.
All BMP-1s were removed from service in the early 2000s. Many were scrapped or sold abroad, while others remained in storage.
Before this happened though, Currus displayed a modified BMP-1 during C + D 1997. This one was modified with a Rafael OWS-25 system. Interestingly, the OWS-25 system was paired with a dual Stinger launcher (whereas the OWS-25 brochure does not mention missile capability, meaning Currus themselves wired it and such). Aside from this event, I cannot find anything stating or showing that it appeared afterwards ever since. It is therefore unknown what exactly happened with this BMP-1 modification.
Armaments:
Spoiler
25mm Oerlikon Contraves KBA autocannon
7.62 coaxial machine gun
2 ready to fire Stingers (unconfirmed if any are carried inside, but due to BMP-1s being known to carry ATGMs, it would not be that far from unrealistic)
Thermal/Night vision
Smoke grenades
(Do note the brochures cannon is more so focused on the 25mm Bushmaster, meaning this could explain the 60 AP round limit and that the KBA version could potentially have more)
Specifications:
Spoiler
There is no info about this specific modification and its specs, therefore I will use basic BMP-1 info (do note that the OWS-25 can have less/more weight than the base BMP-1 turret due to being a ton heavy, but I have no sources about the BMP-1 turret weight. Additionally the height is most likely higher too, but once again I have no proper sources there).
It has a length of around 6.73m, a width of 2.94m and a height of 2.06m. Its weight in full combat load is about 13 tons. It is powered by a 300hp UTD-20 diesel engine, which allows it to reach a maximum speed of about 65km/h on road.
Sources:
Spoiler
Haditechnika 1998
Rafael OWS-25 brochure
https://forum.htka.hu/threads/a-magyar-hadero-lehetseges-fejlesztesi-iranyai.499/page-621
HARCKOCSI- ÉS TANKMÁNIÁSOK!!! - Index Fórum
Kivonják a hadrendbõl a BMP-1 jelû harcjármûveket
Shoutout to @atta26hu for finding out about this modification on his Hungarian ground force suggestion, otherwise I would have not found out about this at all. Thanks a lot for reading! If you have any extra information, then feel free to share them in the replies! As always, have a good day :)