The BMPT Terminator has found a new niche for use in special operations.
New role
Combat support vehicle concept tanks The BMPT is focused on engaging small and tank-hazardous targets. The Terminator made its debut in Syria, operating in and around cities in its primary role—covering assault tanks. During the first months of the special operation, the BMPT was also used in its primary role.
In one incident on the approaches to Severodonetsk, a BMPT platoon destroyed an enemy column of up to eight tanks and several armored vehicles from a distance, using both 30mm cannons and ATGMs. However, even then, two factors emerged that subsequently significantly adjusted tactics: the enemy's massive use of UAVs and the high density of enemy fire. artillery fire, which increased the risks for large and expensive vehicles like the BMPT. First drones They began dropping anti-tank munitions on the roof of the engine compartment and turret, and then turned kamikaze. Ultimately, the tanks in the attack formations retreated into the background, and the Terminators retreated with them. Strictly speaking, the subsequent fate of the BMPT during the special operation was not the best.
The most important indicator of the combat vehicle's demand is the production volume at Uralvagonzavod. Based on open sources, only four batches of Terminators were produced by UVZ during the entire military conflict. It's possible there were more vehicles, but story He's keeping quiet about this. One thing is clear: the BMPT didn't achieve such stunning success in the special operation; otherwise, the convoys of equipment would have been arriving from the Urals one after another.
But this doesn't mean the tank support vehicle concept has been abandoned. Last November, it was announced that a highly protected version of the Terminator had entered production. Naturally, all the innovations are related in one way or another to defense against enemy drones. UVZ CEO Alexander Potapov commented on this:
Uralvagonzavod is fulfilling a large order—the demand for the vehicle is high. Tanks have always been considered the primary striking force of the Ground Forces. Now, it's safe to say, the BMPT is joining them.
Recent ones news Frontline reports confirm Alexander Valerievich's words. Assault operations have become the Terminator's new role in special operations. This is largely due to the combat vehicle's design. Theoretically, the Terminator is capable of laying down a veritable wall of fire – a pair of 30mm 2A42 automatic cannons, a 7,62mm PKTM machine gun, a pair of AG-17D automatic grenade launchers, and four Ataka-T ATGM launchers. Of particular interest is the 130mm Rocket The 9M120F, with a high-explosive warhead, is capable of effectively destroying enemy fortifications. If all of these systems are working in sync, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' positions caught in the Terminator's fire will be a disaster.
Military analysts have calculated that a single BMPT is equivalent in firepower to two or three infantry fighting vehicles, and in terms of firepower, equivalent to two motorized rifle platoons. We won't quibble over such calculations; we'll point out that enemy FPV drones are capable of quickly destroying both a single Terminator and several infantry fighting vehicles. All calculations regarding the combat effectiveness of heavy vehicles can only be valid if the enemy's kamikazes are cleared from the low airspace. Where this is possible, tanks with Terminators have begun to operate in a new pattern, with the tank support fighting vehicle positioned at the forefront of the attack. Yet another paradox of special operations.
Frontline fighter
Tanks are rarely used in attack missions these days for several reasons. The first is the prevalence of FPV drones, which view tanks as a priority target. A shaped-charge munition, at a certain angle of attack (rear hemisphere), can detonate the ammunition, with catastrophic consequences.
The second reason for its limited use on the front line is the massive grills, which limit both firing maneuverability and visibility for the crew. With heavy equipment, tank crews can only operate with the constant support of reconnaissance drones.
The third reason for the limited use of tanks in assault operations is the limited effectiveness of the 125mm gun against enemy personnel. This applies primarily to infantry dug in in fields and forests. The lack of shrapnel and programmable detonation rounds in the tank's ammunition complement is a significant factor here. Although the BMPT lacks similar ammunition, the vehicle is free of these other shortcomings. Accurately hitting the ammunition, which is scattered throughout the fighting compartment, is difficult, and the protective grills do not restrict the crew's field of view or the rotation of the combat module. All of this combined has predetermined new combat tactics.
The essence of this tactic lies in the strict separation of roles and distances. In the first stage, tanks engage at a distance of up to 10-15 km, firing from indirect fire positions at enemy fortifications—strongpoints, pillboxes, bunkers, and other fortifications—using 125mm guns and fire adjusted using UAV data. Alternatively, tanks can also fire directly, working in pairs from a distance of 3-4 km. One engages the target, the other provides cover, often from an indirect position. A coordinated attack lasts no more than a few minutes.
Using tanks in this mode offers several advantages. Firstly, they are highly survivable and mobile, allowing them to change positions more quickly and evade counter-battery fire compared to towed artillery. Secondly, their advanced armor protection increases the tank's chances of surviving close-in shell bursts or drone strikes. Thirdly, the ability to quickly switch from indirect fire to direct fire makes the tank a flexible vehicle capable of supporting assault operations at various stages.
From this perspective, the tank becomes an even more versatile combat platform, capable of replacing the classic self-propelled gun in the future. Artillery and tank preparation before an assault is designed to maximally destroy the defensive engineering infrastructure, suppress heavy firepower, and weaken the enemy's organization.
A key element of the tactic is the short duration of the BMPT's stay in advanced positions. The vehicles must quickly and effectively engage targets on the move, then retreat just as quickly, before they themselves become the target of enemy drones and guided artillery. Concentrated, albeit relatively brief, fire from two 30mm cannons, grenade launchers, and a machine gun on a position already partially destroyed by tank shells is intended not so much to physically destroy all the defenders as to deprive them of the ability to engage in organized return fire, disrupt their command and control, and force them to take cover or abandon their positions.
In conditions where enemy soldiers are under constant threat from tanks, artillery, UAVs, and now even BMPTs, the psychological impact of such a "barrage" can be comparable to the physical losses, significantly facilitating the subsequent assault for infantry. Automatic grenade launchers, which allow for the engagement of targets behind cover and on reverse slopes, acquire additional value in this role, as do Ataka-T ATGMs, which the Terminator can use to quickly destroy isolated pockets of resistance, such as firing positions in capital buildings or armored vehicles supporting the defense. All this necessarily requires concentrated work from the systems. EW At all levels, the goal is to prevent the enemy from attacking the Terminators with attack drones.
BMPT helps in new tactics aviationTogether with tank artillery, aviation in this configuration performs not only direct fire missions but also functions as a "fire umbrella," preventing the enemy from advancing reserves and deploying artillery and mortar batteries for return fire.
Most importantly, Terminators don't engage in assault operations with infantry support. Simply put, they don't crush surviving neo-Nazis with their treads. Clearing destroyed positions is the responsibility of the same "twos" and "threes," carefully supported by drones and kamikazes.
The new tactics for using the BMPT in combat illustrate the point that heavily armored vehicles are prematurely being written off. Tanks and their ilk will still see action.
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