Quote:
Originally Posted by Tegyrius
All of which is to say - which BMP-3 do you guys prefer in your T2k universes? Do you cleave to verisimilitude and deploy 100mm-armed BMP-3s with your formerly-Category-A marauders, or do you prefer GDW's incremental upgrade of the BMP-2 for supply chain simplicity?
- C.
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The eigth troop seat never made sense. Adding one seat means either ripping stuff out or enhancing internal volume by enlarging the dimensions of the vehicle. Additionally, an eighth seat is unnecessary, unless one changes all small unit tactics and doctrine in an army. The Soviets clearly never went the way of US fire teams and we know armored infantry can work other than US armored infantry, because the German Bundeswehr operates at six persons per IFV and keeps them together like the Soviets/Russians and not splitting them up like the US does.
I get the 40 mm AGL, the Soviets did something similar with some BMP-1s in Afghanistan already. It's a good anti-infantry set-up and it circumvented the problem that their 73 mm low pressure gun sucked in all aspects: range, accuracy and rounds per minute.
The actual BMP-3 rightfully never supplanted the BMP-2, because it tries to do to much on to small a frame and with no clear purpose: The low pressure 100 mm still has an abysmal effective range of just around 300 m. It's only benefit is the ability to fire ATGMs, but of course they're limited in caliber and it's a laser-beam rider. The 30 mm has decent range out to 2,000 m, but no good APFSDS is available in the relevant time frame. Optics are okay for daylight combat, but nighttime optronics are not on par with Western IFVs.
As all BMPs so far, the BMP-3 is super cramped and a menace to its crews. Also, the flat turret and the bad ergonomics give poor overall situational awareness.
The best one can do to it is install a new and better turret package plus some good ERA, preferably Kontakt-5 or better.
If that's not available, mix both, the GDW and the historical approach: Add a laser range finder, armor and fuel. Then keep the autocannon of the BMP-2 and its ATGM. An AGL can be added instead of the PKT in a 1:3 ratio (i. e. 1 per platoon) for additional anti-infantry capabilities. That would be an Afghanization of the GDW BMP line.