The development of the BT-3F armored personnel carrier is nearing completion
BT-3F at one of the domestic exhibitions
The Russian defense industry is completing development work on the creation of a promising amphibious armored personnel carrier BT-3F. In the near future, the remaining activities will be carried out and the necessary documents will be drawn up. Based on the results of these events, the preparation of mass production of equipment and the search for potential buyers will begin. The creators expect that the BT-3F will be of interest to the Russian and foreign military.
Proactively
The floating armored personnel carrier BT-3F is being developed by the Kurganmashzavod enterprise and the JSC Special Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering (Kurgan). Development work started in the first half of the 3s on an initiative basis. The aim of the project was to create a new armored vehicle for infantry based on the BMP-XNUMX chassis.
The prototype BT-3F was first shown to the public at the Army-2016 military-technical forum. In the future, this car regularly participated in various exhibitions. In addition, various options for refining the armored personnel carrier were demonstrated. So, in 2019, the BT-3F with a remotely controlled combat module of the new model was introduced, and in 2021, the Arctic version of the armored vehicle appeared.
In the middle of the decade, the newly built armored personnel carrier was put to the test. In the past, it was repeatedly reported on the conduct of certain stages of verification. In 2020-21 The BT-3F was submitted for preliminary tests, in which it had to show its running, combat and operational characteristics in all intended operating and use conditions. Completion of these activities was announced in August 2022.
Based on the results of preliminary tests, the management of Kurganmashzavod reported that the BT-3F had passed the test and confirmed all the parameters. The preparation of regulatory and technical documentation for the assignment of the letter “O” to the product has begun. After that, the armored personnel carrier can be fully brought to the market, search for customers and conclude contracts.
On August 10, 2023, High Precision Complexes reported that the initiative R&D to create the BT-3F product was coming to an end. This means that in the foreseeable future, the production of such equipment for certain customers will begin.
Potential customers
The promising amphibious armored personnel carrier BT-3F found its customer long before the completion of development work. In April 2019, Rosoboronexport and the Indonesian Ministry of Defense signed a contract for the supply of BMP-3F infantry fighting vehicles and BT-3F armored personnel carriers. The quantity, cost and timing of the transfer of equipment were not reported. Amphibious infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers are intended for the Indonesian marines.
For obvious reasons, deliveries of BT-3F vehicles have not yet begun. At the time of signing the contract, R&D continued, and in addition, the developers had to draw up all the necessary documents and prepare production. To date, all these activities are almost completed, and the launch of production with the subsequent delivery of finished BT-3F is now a matter of the near future.
Sea trials
The development organizations expect that the Russian armed forces will become another customer for the BT-3F. So, in 2022, the leadership of Kurganmashzavod reported interest from our Ministry of Defense. Then joint work was carried out to determine the required amount of such equipment. At the same time, in order to be put into service, an armored personnel carrier must pass state tests.
The presence of an order from Indonesia and a possible purchase by the Russian army should have a positive effect on further sales of the BT-3F. Real contracts and the operation of armored personnel carriers in combat units will convince third countries of the need to purchase such equipment.
On the finished chassis
The BT-3F product is a tracked armored personnel carrier designed for the transportation and landing of troops and is designed for use on land and on water. In order to simplify and speed up the development and production, it was made on the basis of the serial BMP-3F. At the same time, the original hull and its equipment were subjected to refinement, and the original fighting compartment was abandoned.
In the BT-3F project, the original building was supplemented with a superstructure in the central part, on the site of the former fighting compartment and landing sites. The resulting volume of increased height is used as a troop compartment. At the same time, the layout of the other compartments of the hull has not changed: the control compartment remains in the bow, and the power plant occupies the stern.
The frontal part of the hull retains the original spaced armor made of aluminum sheets and protects against bullets, shrapnel and small-caliber projectiles. The new add-on has a similar design and the same level of protection. In addition, measures are provided to protect against undermining, such as energy-absorbing crew and landing seats.
The power plant has not changed. Like the BMP-3, the BT-3F is equipped with a UTD-29T diesel engine with an HP 450 power. and the same transmission. The undercarriage still has six rollers with torsion bar suspension on each side. As a result, the running characteristics of the product weighing 18,9 tons remained at the level of its predecessor. A pair of jet propulsion remained in its place - one of the key units of the floating armored personnel carrier.
It is proposed to equip the armored personnel carrier with remotely controlled combat modules of various models, carrying machine guns of normal or large caliber. In addition, two bow machine gun mounts with PKT products, characteristic of the BMP-3, have been preserved. Smoke grenade launchers were used as additional weapons. Earlier it was reported about the possibility of installing a module with a 30-mm automatic gun.
The crew of the BT-3F includes three people. Landing - 14 people. On the sides of the driver there are places from which course machine guns are controlled. Above them there are own hatches. The rest of the landing force is located in the compartment under the superstructure. Access to the compartment is provided by a pair of aft passages above the engine compartment. Habitable compartments have an air conditioning system. In the Arctic version, the BT-3F is insulated and equipped with a heater.
With important benefits
The use of the BMP-3F chassis gave the BT-3F armored personnel carrier a number of important features and advantages over other equipment. It is due to it that an advantageous combination of all the main characteristics and functions is achieved, which should be of interest to potential buyers.
First of all, a high degree of unification of samples of different classes is achieved. It simplifies the operation and maintenance of armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, and the same technical characteristics provide advantages in the context of joint combat use.
The hull borrowed from the BMP-3 is distinguished by rather high protection characteristics. In this regard, the BT-3F is superior to other domestic armored personnel carriers of the main models. The caterpillar chassis, in turn, provides higher characteristics of mobility and maneuverability.
In the accessible volume of the hull, it was possible to organize a very roomy troop compartment. In terms of the number of seats, the BT-3F is twice as large as the serial BTR-80/82. In addition, the landing is carried out through the stern, under the cover of armor, which increases the safety of the fighters at this stage.
Arctic option
The BT-3F must support the landing force with fire, and for this it can be equipped with combat modules of various types with one or another weapon. So far, prototypes were equipped only with machine guns of different models. In the future, they promised to install more serious weapons, as on the BTR-82. Regardless of the type of module, there is a pair of machine guns in the bow, which improve the overall fire performance of the vehicle.
However, with all its advantages, the BT-3F differs from other domestic armored personnel carriers in greater complexity and cost. In addition, the industry is only preparing the production of such equipment, while the BTR-80/82 has long been mass-produced.
Development is nearing completion
Thus, the industry represented by SKBM and Kurganmashzavod is completing the development of a promising floating armored personnel carrier. In the near future, BT-3F will receive all the necessary documents and will be able to go into production. There is already an order for the production of such equipment, and in the foreseeable future the first batch will go to the buyer.
What will happen next, time will tell. It can be assumed that the Indonesian order will not remain the only one, and new contracts will soon appear. Earlier it was reported about the interest from our Ministry of Defense, and sales to other foreign countries are also possible. In general, the BT-3F is quite capable of attracting the interest of a potential customer, the only question is the timing and volume of future orders.
Information