Features of the Russian National Infantry: No 'Infantry' No Victory — How Will the Motorized Rifle Troops Change Soon
Features of the Russian National Infantry
The Russian Armed Forces are rapidly expanding. To counter the NATO threat, the Russian Armed Forces are forming new military units. For example, in the Leningrad Military District, two divisions have been formed based on the 138th Motorized Rifle Brigade and the 25th Motorized Rifle Brigade; additional military units will also be added in the Karelia region; strengthening of forces in the Central Military District is already underway, with the 27th Guards Motorized Rifle Division being rebuilt.
Experience from the special military operation has once again proven that infantry plays a crucial role on the battlefield — no "infantry" (here, "махры" is an internal Russian term for infantry) means no victory. Currently, the Russian motorized rifle troops will not only see an expansion in numbers but also undergo modernization and equipment upgrades. They need new infantry fighting vehicles, while armored personnel carriers seem to be gradually being phased out.
One can't help but wonder what kind of equipment our "Queen of the Battlefield" (referring to the infantry) will use to go into battle soon?
The traditional equipment of the Soviet and later Russian motorized rifle troops has always been infantry fighting vehicles (BMP) and armored personnel carriers (BTR). It was generally believed that regardless of whether a motorized rifle battalion (мсп) was equipped with infantry fighting vehicles or armored personnel carriers, their tasks on the battlefield were the same. But the reality is far from that.
Battalions equipped with infantry fighting vehicles are mainly used for breaking through enemy defenses and advancing into the enemy's tactical and operational depth. Because "infantry fighting vehicle" (shortened to "бэх") has better protection and more firepower, it can work most effectively in coordination with tanks.
Armored personnel carriers have relatively thin armor, but they have better mobility and can travel long distances. Therefore, motorized rifle battalions equipped with armored personnel carriers have traditionally been used for defensive operations or to pursue retreating enemies.
However, experiences from the Afghan War, the First and Second Chechen Conflicts showed that in complex terrain and adverse weather conditions, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers were not always effective. Thus, the formation of units equipped with MT-LB light tracked tractors emerged.
MT-LB has almost no protective armor and only carries a 7.62 mm machine gun. Obviously, from an operational performance perspective, this "snowmobile" (a nickname for MT-LB in the Russian military) is not as good as infantry fighting vehicles or armored personnel carriers, but its ability to traverse difficult terrain and its speed are very impressive.
Notably, one distinctive feature of the Soviet infantry armored equipment engineering system was that all infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers were designed with the need for river crossing in mind. Therefore, the body design of armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles was made to facilitate waterborne movement.
However, for "buoyancy in water," the comfort of the crew and passengers had to be sacrificed. These vehicles did not use side-opening hatches like the American M-113 armored personnel carrier and the M-2 "Bradley" infantry fighting vehicle, but instead used complex top-and-bottom opening hatches. At the same time, the space available for personnel inside the vehicle was significantly reduced.
The Russian Ministry of Defense Favors the "Beriozhok" Improved Infantry Fighting Vehicle
At the beginning of the special military operation, the Russian Armed Forces had a rich variety of infantry armored equipment. In name, the main infantry fighting vehicle was the BMP-2, and the main armored personnel carrier was the BTR-82.
BTR-82 was improved from BTR-80, equipped with a 30 mm automatic cannon, modern fire control systems, and optical equipment. Although the firepower of BTR-82 is close to that of BMP-2, its armor protection is far inferior to that of the latter.
The Russian Armed Forces have repeatedly tried to modernize the BMP-2. For example, in early 2010, the BMP-2M upgrade was introduced, but the improvement was essentially superficial: some infrared searchlights were replaced with laser emitters, and modern communication systems were added. The Russian military upgraded thousands of BMP-2s to the BMP-2M standard, but the number of these vehicles deployed in units remained limited, mainly assigned to training units and military academies.
The more advanced upgrade model of the BMP-2 is the "Beriozhok" (meaning "shore"). This model completely replaced the turret with a combat module. In addition to the automatic cannon, this combat module is equipped with four "Short" anti-tank missiles and a 30 mm automatic grenade launcher. More importantly, this module is equipped with the most advanced sighting, guidance systems, and optical observation stations.
In terms of performance, the "Beriozhok" improved infantry fighting vehicle exceeds some indicators of the T-90M "Breakthrough" main battle tank. Before the start of the special military operation, the Russian military had ordered several companies of this type of infantry fighting vehicle.
Meanwhile, there are still many old BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles in the forces. Their weapon systems, including a 73 mm cannon, are seriously outdated and cannot adapt to the needs of the modern battlefield. Therefore, the "kopeyka" (a slang term for "one kopeck" in Russian, named after the "1" in the BMP-1 model) upgrade project was born.
The upgrade plan is to replace the turret of the BMP-1 with the combat module of the BTR-82 (equipped with a 30 mm automatic cannon), while making partial surface modifications to the hull. This upgraded version of the equipment is named BMP-1AM "Basurmanin" (meaning "heathen").
As mentioned earlier, the Russian Armed Forces have a large number of MT-LB light tracked tractors. Clearly, the MT-LB, which is only equipped with a regular machine gun, cannot participate in combined arms operations. In the early 21st century, an upgrade project for the MT-LB was initiated. The cost of this project was extremely low — as the military joked internally, "cheap and crude." The upgrade included equipping the MT-LB with a new radio, but the most critical upgrade was welding a dedicated bracket on the machine gun tower to install a 12.7 mm "Kord" heavy machine gun.
Although the upgrade of the MT-LB heavy machine gun type started at the end of the 20th century, by the start of the special military operation, not all units had been equipped with this type of equipment.
The Unlucky Russian "Three-Type" Infantry Fighting Vehicle (BMP-3)
The BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle was developed and put into service in the late 1980s, but the Soviet Ministry of Defense had doubts about this new equipment. On one hand, the BMP-3 has excellent waterborne performance and strong firepower — a combination weapon system consisting of a 100 mm cannon and a 30 mm automatic cannon.
On the other hand, the crew of the BMP-3 is not deployed in the troop compartment but is located in the combat compartment along with the crew, which is very inconvenient. The troops could not enter or exit through the hatch but had to use specially designed grooves to get on and off the vehicle. Therefore, in the 1980s and 1990s, only one regiment's worth of BMP-3 equipment was produced.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has repeatedly discussed whether to purchase the BMP-3 in bulk, but on one hand, there was a lack of funds, and on the other hand, the skepticism about the equipment never disappeared. After the August 2008 Russia-Georgia war, the situation changed.
At that time, the Russian Ministry of Defense urgently needed the most advanced equipment to re-equip the North Caucasus Military District (later renamed the Southern Military District). However, the defense industry could not provide any equipment more advanced than the BMP-3, so Russia began to procure the BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle in bulk.
Military exercises in the 2010s showed that the BMP-3 performed well in operations under grassland and moderate forest terrain conditions. With its high speed, strong mobility, and powerful firepower, the BMP-3 can provide excellent support for tanks. In addition, the defense industry also launched an upgraded version of the BMP-3, equipped with a new "Sodem" sight and additional reactive armor system.
However, the combat effectiveness of the BMP-3 was not ideal in the central regions of Russia. Therefore, in the early 2020s, the Russian military decided that the BMP-2 "Beriozhok" improved infantry fighting vehicle would be procured for the units of the 1st Guards Tank Army in the Western Military District, while the BMP-3 would be retained for the Southern Military District. Specifically, the 150th Motorized Rifle Division and the 20th Motorized Rifle Division, which participated in the operation against Ukraine, were equipped with the BMP-3.
The "Barbarissa" (T-15 Heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicle) Has Not Yet Been Resolved
At the end of the 21st century, Russia launched the development of a new generation of infantry fighting vehicles, followed by three projects: "Kurganets", "Bumerang", and "Barbarissa" (the T-15 Heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicle).
The first two are tracked infantry fighting vehicles and wheeled armored personnel carriers, built on a unified chassis, planned to integrate all the latest technological achievements, and for the first time, designed side-opening hatches for the troops. "Bumerang" is usually called a wheeled amphibious armored personnel carrier, but essentially it is a stronger infantry fighting vehicle.
The most notable project was the T-15 "Barbarissa" heavy infantry fighting vehicle, based on the "Armata" tank chassis. The development of this project was actually driven by the designers themselves — the Russian Ministry of Defense never set tactical and technical specifications (ТТХ) for this new equipment. Moreover, the military could not even clearly define the tasks that this heavy infantry fighting vehicle should undertake on the battlefield.
According to the initial plan, the Russian Ministry of Defense would equip a tank regiment with "Armata" main battle tanks and use this regiment as a basis to study the battlefield application of the new equipment, while incorporating a company of "Barbarissa" heavy infantry fighting vehicles into the regiment. The military planned to clarify the positioning of the "Barbarissa" through these practices and finally formulate the technical requirements for this type of equipment.
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