A BMP-1U in Russian service.
Captured by the Russian Ministry of Defense
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the Ukrainian armed forces inherited more than 2,500 BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles from the Soviet Army.
The 13-ton, 11-person BMP-1 is still Ukraine’s second-largest armored personnel carrier after the better-armed BMP-2. But the BMP-1 has flaws. Size.
Not only is the BMP-1 lightly protected by steel armor only 1 inch thick, its 73-millimeter low-pressure gun also lacks punch.
To improve the firepower of some of its BMP-1s – and to make surplus vehicles more valuable on the export market – the Kyiv Scientific and Technical Center for Artillery and Small Arms swapped the BMP’s old turret for a new one with a much more powerful 30-millimeter -Autocannon. The new, larger turret replaces two of the BMP-1’s eight passenger seats.
The Kiev company called this modernized nine-person armored personnel carrier “BMP-1U”. After an unlikely chain of events that began in the Republic of Georgia in 2008, BMP-1Us are now fighting for the Russians – and against the Ukrainians. A Russian-operated BMP-1U recently appeared in a Russian propaganda video.
Georgia purchased 15 BMP-1Us from Ukraine and put them into service in 2007. A year later, Russia invaded Georgia – and Russian troops apparently captured every single Georgian BMP-1U. Tbilisi built on BMP-1U again in 2011 with a new order.
Russian engineers reportedly spent some time inspecting the modernized BMPs. And 15 years later, the Kremlin assigned some or all of the former Georgian armored personnel carriers to a front-line unit. The Russians also captured a few BMP-1Us from the Ukrainians.
Why a Russian BMP crew would want a Ukrainian-made BMP-1U is obvious. The U-model is a better infantry fighting vehicle than an unmodified BMP-1.
However, it is undeniable that a BMP-1U would complicate the logistics of a motor rifle regiment. The Shkval tower of the U model consists of Ukrainian parts. To keep some of the approximately 15 BMP-1Us operational, a BMP company may need to cannibalize the rest of the BMP-1Us.
The fact that the Russians were willing to accept the logistical complications testifies to their urgent need for armored personnel carriers. The Russian army expanded its war in Ukraine in February 2022 with 400 active BMP-3s, 2,800 BMP-2s and 600 BMP-1s. Since then, the Russians have lost around 2,000 BMPs of all models, including 500 BMP-1s.
Russian industry cannot produce new BMP-3s fast enough to compensate for these losses. Therefore, the Kremlin took old BMP-1s and BMP-2s out of storage, replaced their seals and batteries, and sent them to the front as replacements.
Before the war, the Kremlin had huge stocks of surplus BMP-1s and BMP-2s – 7,200 and 1,400, respectively – but not all of these old armored personnel carriers are recoverable. And the losses continue unabated. Every Soviet-standard BMP the Russians lost made the Ukrainian-standard BMP-1U more valuable, despite its unique logistics.
Beggars cannot be choosers. And when it comes to BMPs, the Russians have been begging for some time.
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