Spanish look at a wheeled armored personnel carrier. BTR BMR-600

BMR M1 of the Spanish Army

Combat buses. Today, Spain has a fairly large arsenal of armored vehicles in comparison with other European countries. The Spanish Army is armed with more than 330 tanks "Leopard 2", this is more than that of Germany itself, 84 Centauro wheeled tanks, almost 400 infantry fighting vehicles and about a thousand armored personnel carriers, of which several hundred are BMR-600 wheeled armored personnel carriers. This armored personnel carrier with a 6x6 wheel formula was developed in Spain in the 1970s, but after the upgrades, it still remains in service, making up an impressive part of the fleet of Spanish wheeled armored vehicles.

History of the creation of the BMR armored personnel carrier

The requirements for a new wheeled combat vehicle were developed by the Spanish military in the early 1970s. Fully technical and tactical requirements were ready in 1972. Then the military turned to representatives of the Spanish industry with an order to create an armored armed wheeled vehicle designed to transport an infantry squad to the combat zone, as well as actions directly in a combat situation. The project of the new armored personnel carrier, which was originally considered as a base for armored vehicles for various purposes, was jointly developed by the Arms Development Commission, the army and the large industrial company ENASA.

It should be noted that ENASA was founded in 1946 and at that time was a major manufacturer of automotive equipment. In many ways, the company was the heir to the automotive assets of Hispano-Suiza's Spanish division. By the beginning of the 1970s, the company was producing a fairly large line of trucks, buses, tractors, as well as armored vehicles for the Spanish army under its own brand Pegaso. The development process of the new armored personnel carrier took four years, all this time the Spanish designers worked on prototypes and tested them.

Armored personnel carrier BMR-600

It is known that during the tests, the Spanish APC competed with foreign counterparts: the French armored personnel carrier Renault VAB and the Swiss MOWAG Piranha. All cars were considered with a 6x6 wheel arrangement. The development of the company ENASA convincingly looked against the background of competitors and left the Spanish military a favorable impression. Quite quickly, the military presented a whole line of wheeled armored vehicles: the armored personnel carrier itself: Pegaso 3560/1 model; self-propelled 81-mm mortar Pegaso 3560/3; Pegaso 3560/5 command and staff vehicle; as well as the Pegaso 3564 fire support vehicle, on which various towers with artillery weapons could be installed, including the French two-seat turret TS-90 with a 90-mm gun located inside.

As a result, the new armored personnel carrier under the designation BMR-600 and the line of vehicles based on it were adopted. Serial production of armored personnel carriers, also known as the Pegaso 3560 BMR, began in 1979. The need of the Spanish army in such equipment was initially estimated at about 500 pieces. In total, during the mass production in Spain, more than 1200 combat vehicles were assembled on this chassis, half of which went for export. Armored personnel carriers were acquired by the armies of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, as well as Mexico and Peru, however, the last two countries were limited to very small parties. Currently, the Spanish army still has 312 armored personnel carriers BMR-600 and upgraded BMR M1 vehicles, without taking into account the equipment remaining in storage. It is assumed that they will remain in service until they are completely replaced by the new four-axis Dragon armored personnel carrier, based on the chassis of the Piranha 5 armored personnel carrier.

Technical features of the BMR armored personnel carrier

For their wheeled armored personnel carrier, Spanish designers have chosen the following layout. In front of the left side is the driver’s seat, immediately behind it is the arrow / radio operator’s seat. To the right of them is the engine-transmission compartment, in which the diesel engine is located, the exhaust pipe is displayed on the right side of the case. In the aft of the combat vehicle is the landing squad. The crew of the car consists of two people. In the paratrooper squad are places for 10 foot soldiers.

The body of the armored personnel carrier was made of aluminum armored plates by welding. All armor plates are located at rational angles of inclination. The upper frontal part provided protection from bullets of caliber up to 12,7 mm inclusive, as well as 7,62 mm armor-piercing bullets. The circular armor protected the APC from small arms fire weapons caliber up to 7,62 mm and fragments of shells and min. In addition, the armored personnel carrier had to withstand the detonation of a mine containing up to 3 kg of explosives. At that time, such armor protection was considered sufficient, but in the course of subsequent upgrades, the reservation was significantly strengthened. For landing and disembarking from an armored personnel carrier, paratroopers could use two large hatches located in the roof of the hull, but the main method of disembarkation was a stern ramp. An additional method of evacuation from the combat vehicle subsequently became a side door located on the left side in the rear of the hull. It could be used if the rear ramp did not open for some reason.

The main weapon of the BRM-600 armored personnel carriers was a large-caliber 12,7 mm M2 HB machine gun, which was mounted outside the 360-degree turret TC-3 developed by Santa Barbara Sistemas. It was possible to reload the machine gun and control it without leaving the fighting vehicle. The machine gun had good angles of vertical guidance from -15 to +60 degrees, which allowed it to be used for firing at air targets. Ammunition for the machine gun was 2500 rounds.

The new Spanish wheeled armored personnel carrier, which was used in the army along with the American tracked M113, received a three-axle scheme with a 6x6 wheel arrangement and two front steering axles. The combat vehicle received an independent hydropneumatic suspension, which is able to change the clearance of the armored personnel carrier depending on the terrain in which the vehicle has to move. The maximum ground clearance was 400 mm. The armored personnel carrier is 6150 mm long, 2500 mm wide, and 2360 mm high. The armored personnel carrier was originally developed as amphibious, so it is not afraid of water obstacles. To overcome water barriers, two water-jet propulsion devices with which its speed on water was 10 km / h could optionally be installed on an armored personnel carrier, when using only wheels, the speed dropped to 4,5 km / h.

Photo: TECH. SGT. HEIMER

The heart of the combat vehicle was the 8-cylinder Pegasus 9157/8 diesel engine, delivering a maximum power of 305 hp. Engine power was enough to disperse an APC with a combat weight of about 14 tons to a speed of 100 km / h when driving on a highway. The cruising range was 1000 km, very worthy indicators for wheeled military equipment. The armored personnel carrier felt good on rough terrain, characterized by good cross. He could overcome rises up to 60 degrees, ditches and trenches up to 1,2 meters wide and vertical walls up to 0,8 meters high.

Upgrade Option to BMR M1

Since 1996, almost all the machines remaining in the arsenal of the Spanish army have been upgraded to the BMR M1 version. Santa Barbara Sistemas, which today is one of the largest Spanish defense companies specializing in the production of various armored vehicles, was responsible for the modernization of combat vehicles. Since 2001, the company has been a division of European Land Systems of General Dynamics. During the modernization, the cars received a lightweight and more compact 6-cylinder Scania DS9 diesel engine with 310 hp and a new 365 liter fuel tank (instead of the 300-liter).

Photo: Master Sgt. Scott Wagers, BMR M1 Armored personnel carriers in Bosnia

The protection of the armored personnel carrier was seriously enhanced by the placement of mounted steel armor, which led to an increase in the combat weight of the vehicle to 15,4 tons, while the maximum speed dropped to 95 km / h. In addition, the updated armored personnel carriers received new air conditioning and heating systems, an upgraded engine fire extinguishing system, night vision devices for the driver, a GPS positioning system, a height-adjustable steering wheel, and ventilated brakes. Also, the configuration of the airborne squad has undergone changes, the number of infantrymen received has dropped to 8 people. The updated version of the armored personnel carrier was widely used by the Spanish military during peacekeeping missions in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq. Also, the machine was used in combat by the armies of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Comments

[Graz]

figase, this is who such a clever prickly armored troop-carrier wrapped in the photo., but if you have to get out through the top hatches, in general the designs of all such armored troop-carriers are licked from our 60ki

[Vladimir_2U]

Quote: Graz

the designs of all such armored personnel carriers are licked from our 60s

Yeah, especially the location of the MTO, some kind of nonsense they wrote.

[The leader of the Redskins]

As for me - for the 70s, a very rational car. For our "70 Ki" some data became relevant much later. And according to some reports, we are still lagging behind (rear-mounted layout). My statement is not an ode to the Spanish armored personnel carrier, but rather a statement of the fact of the conservatism of our view of the armored personnel carrier for several decades.

[Zaurbek]

In comparison, both the 70th and 80th are very modern armored personnel carriers. Only the 8x8 version, in my opinion, would add modifications. They didn’t do it in vain. Would get ahead of Patria.

[ProkletyiPirat]

Nope you do not understand the main essence of such an armored troop-carrier, its MAIN task: to move along public roads in a common stream with civil engineering Our armored personnel carriers are incapable of this, they are too wide, too long and with too large a turning radius. If the latter is not critical for the Russian Federation, then the first is very even, because the road standard is 2,5m, and the BTR-80 is 2,9m wide, as a result, our military cannot drive on roads without removing them from the status of "general use" and our police FSB officers are forced to make shaitan mobiles and dream about mrap, and having received them, regret that they do not swim.

[Zaurbek]

Well, this is not Mrap ... but I agree with your thought.

[The leader of the Redskins]

Road standard, like 3,2 meters.

[Pivot]

3.2 is the maximum size that does not need to be accompanied by a car with an orange beacon, and all vehicles with a width of 2,55-3,2 require a permit for driving on public roads

[ProkletyiPirat]

That's right, in fact, this very permission partially or completely removes the road from the status of "general use". For example, on the highway, our military can move in a column, then the road under this column is deduced from the status of "public use", the nuance and gem is that such a permit is easy to obtain only on multi-lane federal highways, but in the city \ town \\ village such permission is practically unrealistic for the allotted time (allotted for the transfer). There is, however, an exception in the form of an announcement of a state of emergency or a special status. In general, this is basically a headache for the police, military police, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB, the Ministry of Emergencies and similar organizations using oversized.

[Pivot]

Permission in settlements is done in the customer’s service very quickly, but on roads outside settlements in traffic management, which is much more complicated. Another problem is that you can only move along permitted streets and roads. So, of course, it is better to have a size of 2.55, but I think traffic cops will not be able to stop a car with military numbers and, moreover, fine a driver.

[ProkletyiPirat]

Quote: Pivot

but I think traffic cops will not be able to stop the car with military numbers and even more so fine the driver.

This is not the point, the point is that in the relevant departments a wide armored personnel carrier will not be physically registered, they would be happy to do this for their own reinforcement, but because of the width and accompanying hemorrhoids, they cannot do this. Can you imagine that a riot policeman would drive an BTR-82 in the city center? But if such a narrow armored personnel carrier would have been all sorts of Chechnya, Maidans, etc. could be nipped in the bud with the advantage of local strength.

[Pivot]

I do not argue, but we do not have a police state, but for the army, the larger the reserved space, the better, and the unity of the gauge is also important.

[ProkletyiPirat]

We have a multinational and multiconfessional state, and one of the main ways of our destruction is the creation of hostility between individual groups of the population. But for stopping such armored personnel carriers are needed, but in war and the CTO, smaller armored personnel carriers are not so critical, because either ordinary trucks replace them or more numerous armored personnel carriers, that is, reducing armored personnel carriers will not critically worsen military performance characteristics, but they will critically strengthen law enforcement structures in the prewar and postwar period.

[The leader of the Redskins]

I'm talking about road markings. Honestly, I didn’t google it, but I remembered it when the comrade - the foreman, the road builder told.

[remal]

Tigers and Typhoons for what? In the APC, the review is poor, the speed is low.

[Vladimir_2U]

For the actual debut work, it turned out very well. I was surprised that the APC was created floating, but I doubt that after the upgrades this ability was preserved, not a single photo has a wave breaker shield.

[Pashhenko Nikolay]

Air conditioning, positioning system ... how is it with us?

[svp67]

Interesting machine. Outwardly similar to our APCs, but clearly less. Something between our BRDM-2 and BTR-70, but obviously with a higher power density and ramp ...

[The leader of the Redskins]

More likely on VAB ...

[Svarog51]

He could climb up to 60 degrees,

That would be to see how he does it. If only like this NIWA.

[svp67]

Quote: Svarog51

That would be to see how he does it.

With its size and specific power, this is quite possible, but I really would like to see

[Freeman]

Quote: svp67

Quote: Svarog51

That would be to see how he does it.

With its size and specific power, this is quite possible, but I really would like to see

Please.

Can before


And you can also "backwards"

[svp67]

Quote: Freeman

Please.

Thank. But it’s not 60 degrees, from a force of 45. But still it’s a lot. And the video shows better how small it is. He is slightly larger than our BRDM. And having such an engine power, its thrust-to-weight ratio is not surprising. Had our BRDM engine at least 250 horsepower, it would climb the hills no worse.

[Saxahorse]

What can I say .. beautiful! Pulls straight to the beast! Really good machine.

[Catfish]

Something he looks suspiciously like "Piranha".

[Private-K]

In general, nothing like. A completely different car.

[V.I.P.]

I wonder why the USSR and Russia did not build three-axle armored personnel carriers? In the world a lot of countries have produced and are now producing triaxial models. My opinion is that we have huge engines, voracious. Under them, the fuel also increased the length of the armored personnel carrier, but the extra axis for the stability of a long car. Maybe another reason?

[cat Rusich]

BTR-152 - THREE. You can clarify the question and get the BTR-E152V ... but he did not go into the series, all questions to the customer of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

[Alexander Alekseev_2]

Instead of the thorns in the pictures, put the gratings, make variations with anti-tank systems, air defense systems, 20-30 mm cannons, BRDM, those cars. help, honey. services, rkhbz, ​​etc. and you can talk with Giblartar with the Naglosaks. Oh, dreams, dreams)

[Freeman]

Quote: Alexander Alekseev_2

Instead of the thorns in the pictures, put the gratings, make variations with anti-tank systems, air defense systems, 20-30 mm cannons, BRDM, those cars. help, honey. services, rkhbz, ​​etc. and you can talk with Giblartar with the Naglosaks. Oh, dreams, dreams)

In the basic version, almost everything you listed was available.
Guns 20,25 and 90 mm. Those. help and complex ptrk.

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Shl. You can turn on subtitles in Spanish ("tile" icon) and turn on translation into Russian ("gear" icon).

[Elturisto]

This is a completely different machine-engine and transmission in the aft, reinforced suspension, body design, is it really not visible?

[Alexander Alekseev_2]

And isho the sergeant shouted - "shake it out ..."

[Saxahorse]

Successful article, thanks to the author!

The machine is really high-torque and compact. The only thing I would like to immediately advise to do right-left hatches, as in the BTR-80 :) The practice of anti-guerrilla warfare suggests that a ramp is not always a good way for flank fire.