Russian military blogger criticizes BMP vehicles as outdated relics
A Russian military blogger bluntly assessed infantry fighting vehicles and the tactics employed when using them. Here, we present his observations.
A Russian blogger posted a comprehensive analysis on the VKontakte portal about the BMP family of infantry fighting vehicles and their tactics of use. His evaluation is quite negative, stating that these machines essentially serve as one-time taxis for assault groups.
BMP infantry fighting vehicles — once a revolution, now an obsolete one-time taxi
The Russian commentator noted that the BMPs received by soldiers as reinforcements after Izyum were of poor quality, even after undergoing a two-month overhaul. His unit was still at only 70-80% of its authorized strength, and of the reinforcements received, approximately 50% of the BMP-1/2s failed the control run.
Moreover, the weaponry in many units was not operational, and anti-tank guided missiles (particularly the 9M14 Malyutka for the BMP-1) are reportedly rare. In practice, the blogger mentions that only the BMP-2M "Berezhnok" and other versions after a major overhaul with the 2A42 automatic cannon are combat-ready.
Meanwhile, the rest of the vehicles delivered to the front are increasingly old rusty wrecks, with real performance falling significantly below the declared levels. This includes issues such as gun accuracy or even engine power, if still operational. Combined with insufficiently trained crews, this situation spells disaster.
The commentator observed that new crew training focuses primarily on technical maintenance issues with no tactical instruction, which is learned only at the front. This results in combat usage that is nearly limited to "cavalry charges" and dropping off troops at designated locations immediately after artillery fire.
Additionally, Soviet-era vehicles were not designed to accommodate soldiers who were equipped with modern protective gear due to insufficient space. The Russians also complained about the low level of protection, as even machine guns loaded with armour-piercing ammunition are dangerous, and FPV drones are lethal.
"There are no jammers, and the ones that exist often don't work due to frequency changes by the Ukrainians. Only nets stretched over vehicles offer some minimal protection." In his section of the front, this reduced the tactic to "Pedal to the metal and pray to reach the drop-off zone, which was considered a success in itself."
The Russian noted that the last stage, namely the return to pick up another assault group, was rare because BMPs were usually destroyed by drones on the return journey. A higher level of coordination, such as supporting disembarked infantry with onboard weapons fire, typical of infantry fighting vehicles, is impossible if the weapons don't function or if there is no communication.
