He BMPT Terminatorfrom the Russian manufacturer Uralvagonzavodis a support combat vehicle designed to operate in urban environments and whose first version entered service in 2011. More recently, a second, more advanced version has done so in which the original turret was replaced by a unmanned weapons station with huge firepower. This variant, BMPT-72 Terminator 2is being used in the Ukraine war by Russia since early 2023.
It is a fearsome tank equipped with four missile launchers Ataka 9M120two automatic cannons 2A42 30 millimetertwo grenade launchers AG-17D and a machine gun 7.62mm coaxial PKTM. It can attack both light and heavy armored vehicles, air targets and fortifications.
They were estimated at nine BMPT-72 Terminator units in the Russian Army at the beginning of the war. Now we have been able to know What is the inside of one of these tanks like? thanks to a video spread on social media in which a Russian soldier gives some explanations about a BMPT-72 on Ukrainian soil.
The video begins with the vehicle commander outside the vehicle with the rest of the crew on the BMPT-72: driver, gunner and two grenade launcher operators, all equipped with fireproof uniforms. He briefly reviews the weapons and then shows the narrow cabin occupying three of the crew in the front of the tank and displaying the sighting system, nicknamed the “God eye”, with which they control the outside of the tank. In the last part of the video you can see the tank moving and opening fire.
🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺 #Russia – There aren't many chances to see the inside of a #BMPT Russian. In this video you can see some details of it, including the screens and the narrow cabin shared by the three crew members at the bow of the vehicle. pic.twitter.com/AQjWniNGgt
— Ejercitos Magazine (@REjercitos) February 13, 2024
The design of the BMPT Terminator began after the participation of the Russian Army in the Chechen conflict. Their armor suffered many casualties in urban combat environments and from there The need arose for a combat vehicle with greater mobility, armor and firepower. The successor to the BMPT-72 Terminator 2, known as Terminator 3change the tank chassis T-90 of the first by that of the Armata and the weapons station includes two automatic cannons 57mm4x ATGM Sprintertwo automatic grenade launchers AGS-40 Balkan and two machine guns 7.62mm PKTM.