History and Introduction
The BMP-3 is a Soviet era armoured fighting vehicle. Designed in the 70s, it has been widely exported to many nations and become popular for its capabilities as an Infantry Fighting Vehicle. The IFV sports a 100mm autoloaded cannon shooting HE and Laser beam riding atgms, a co-axial 30mm 2A72 autocannon alongside a 7.62mm PKT machine gun. This gives the BMP-3 gunner a weapon for any engagement, easy to use as they are all aligned with the sight.
The story of this BMP-3 is interesting, possibly one of the many purchased by the UAE from Russia. Being the largest operator of this vehicle outside of Russia, they were interested in upgrading their IFVs to keep up with modern times. To achieve this, they turned to international defense companies to see what options were present. Amongst the companies that participated was Industriewerke Saar (IWS), a division of Diehl, a well known German Defence technology provider.
To call their product an upgrade would be a disservice. This is probably THE most German BMP you will ever find. However, military requirements in the face of finances do not care, as the UAE did not pursue the offered product and instead signed a deal with Russias Rosboron Export to upgrade their BMP-3s to the BMP-3M standard for a $74 million contract.
The Diehl BMP-3
The Diehl BMP-3 barely resembles its siblings and is practically a whole new vehicle, as stated by the manufacturer: “Complete Change of Vehicle Structure” is the simplest way to put it. Designed by IWS in Germany, the Diehl BMP-3 adopts a rear mounted turret configuration. Keeping the sensor and weapons package the same, it now features a front mounted engine, giving its crew and dismounts increased survivability as well as the engine being upgraded to a 720hp MTU 8V199 and a Renk HSWL 106 transmission, pumping up its hp/t ratio to 38.5! Obviously the new transmission would also play into the mobility and acceleration statistics. Germans… at it again!
Not only that, the new chassis sports additional armour that would allow it to tank more damage, probably even from 30mm APFSDS rounds at the hull front. Side armour also seems to be plastered with add-ons as well as a shoulder mounted machine gun which is assumed to be mirrored on the left side.
The internals are completely redesigned with crew and infantry comfort and protection in mind. In addition to the 3 man crew, the new Diehl BMP-3 can carry upto 9 dismounts (8 shown in the below diagram) however the vehicle currently offers only 6 seating positions for comfort during longer missions and rapid deployment from the infantry doors.
Having done all this WHILE maintaining vehicle floatation capabilities is genuinely an impressive production feat keeping in mind the vehicle is also fitted with a new IWS designed cooling system which can handle external temperatures upto 55 degrees C. Useful when youre in the desert!
Technical Specifications
Crew: 3 (Commander, Gunner, Driver)
— Mobility —
Weight: ~18.7t
Engine: MTU Diesel 8V199 Engine
Power: 720hp
Transmission: Renk Transmission HSWL 106
Top speed: 70kmph
Power/weight: 38.5hp/t
Suspension: Adjustable Hydropneumatic
— Armament —
Main gun: 100mm 2A70 semi-automatic cannon
Autoloader: Yes
Secondary gun(s): 30mm 2A72 autocannon
Elevation: Unchanged
Traverse: 360°
Gun sight: Unchanged
Laser range finder: Yes
Thermals: Yes (Commander only)(Peleng PKP)
NVD: Yes
ESS: Yes
Smoke Grenades: 6
— Ammunition —
-
100mm
Count: 48, 22 in first order rack, 15rpm -
-
30mm
Count: 500, 250 in first order rack, 330rpm -
Sources
- Yes
- No
