Historical Records – 35 Years Ago, Russia's BMP-3 Amphibious IFV Ranpur Officially Operates

Ranpur Amphibious IFV BMP-3

35 years ago, which coincided with September 1, 1987, became a historic moment in the world of the Russian armored fighting vehicle (ranpur) industry, precisely on that date was the first time the BMP-3 amphibious ranpur entered service in the Soviet military. 

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Although it was first developed and operational in the era of the Soviet Union, it is undeniable that the BMP-3 is Russia's success story in the amphibious defense segment which 'spawned' so many variants.

Historically, the BMP-3 was designed as a successor to the BMP-1 and BMP-2. The abbreviation for BMP is Boevaya Mashina Pehoty which literally means infantry fighting vehicle, or a popular term now called IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle).

The design of the BMP-3 or Object 688M can be traced to the prototype of the Object 685 light tank which was designed in 1975, the tank used a 100 mm 2A48-1 cannon. 

The Object 685 prototype did not enter the production phase, but a chassis with a new engine was used for the next generation IFV, namely the Object 688 by design bureau A. Blagonravov.

The 688's original gun configuration consisted of an externally mounted 30 mm Shipunov 2A42 cannon and a 7.62 mm PKT coaxial machine gun. The BMP-3, which was then successfully designed, continued to be developed in the early 1980s and entered Soviet Army service on September 1, 1987.

Although it was put into service in 1987, the unique BMP-3 was only shown for the first time in public during the Victory Day Parade in In 1990, by NATO this IFV was later given the code M1990.

Currently, most of the BMP-3s are manufactured by the Kurganmashzavod (Kurgan Machine Building Plant), but some variants are manufactured by the Rubtsovsk Machine Building Plant, such as the BRM-3K variant. 

Ranpur Amphibious IFV BMP-3

More than 2,000 units of the BMP-3 in various variants have been produced and are still being made. Meanwhile, there are 15 users in 15 countries, including Indonesia, which has operated 54 BMP-3F units and ordered an additional 22 units in 2019.

In May 2015, the Russian Ministry of Defense signed a three-year contract to receive hundreds of BMP-3 vehicles to maintain the strength of its armored vehicles, in particular until its successor Kurganets-25 completes research and development. 

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Russia is the largest user of the BMP-3, the contract for the procurement of this Ranpur reaches 720 units, of which 200 units have been received and put into operation.

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