BTR "Boomerang" - a new vehicle for the Russian motorized infantry

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Today, Russian motorized infantry moves on armored personnel carriers BTR-80 and BTR-82. These machines are time-tested, reliable and easy to operate, but have already begun to lag behind modern requirements.

Until recently, even military experts found it difficult to judge what technically the new development of Russian designers of military equipment "Boomerang" is. The armored personnel carrier, whose photo has only recently become available to the general public, is likely to make a real revolution in the tactics of using motorized rifle units.

As the armed conflicts of recent decades have shown, monolithic armor does not provide adequate protection for people in cars, it can be penetrated by cumulative ammunition. The level of armament also, according to military experts, could be higher so that such a machine would more effectively support the advancing infantry. And yet, a modern armored vehicle must overcome water obstacles without waiting for sappers to build bridges.

Considering the requirements of the customer,engineers of the Military-Industrial Company began to develop a new universal armored platform, on the basis of which it will be possible to build combat vehicles in several versions, in particular, armored personnel carriers. "Boomerang" turned out to be multipurpose.

The design of the chassis and hull, as conceived by the designers, should be carried out according to a modular principle, thus a high degree of unification can be achieved, which will simplify the supply of spare parts and allow, if necessary, to re-modify any sample. Possible options: reconnaissance, ambulance, infantry fighting vehicles, mobile air defense and electronic warfare systems.

The Boomerang armored personnel carrier has multi-layer ceramic-metal armor, which is significantly superior in durability to monolithic armor. Enhanced anti-mine resistance. Armament is represented by an artillery turret with telemetry control. A 30-mm rapid-fire cannon, an automatic grenade launcher and a Kornet missile launcher will be standard equipment for the combat module, but there are also options with heavy weapons (125-mm guns), which make it possible to hit modern armored vehicles.

The information richness of the equipment of the Boomerang armored personnel carrier is unprecedented for domestic motorized rifle equipment. In real time, the commander can judge the position of all vehicles on the battlefield, receive information about their damage and, based on this data, make operational decisions. Thanks to thermal imaging and infrared devices, the Boomerang armored personnel carrier can move and fire at night and in fog. The unifiedthe tactical level control system (ESU TK) will create conditions for clear coordination of crew actions, which will significantly increase the overall effectiveness of combat operations.

20-ton machine is driven by a 600-horsepower engine with a long service life. Depending on the modification, it may be floating.

Until now, not all the tactical and technical data of the Boomerang armored personnel carrier are known. News-2013, photos published in the press, and some information provided by the leadership of the Military Industrial Company, allow us to judge the high combat qualities of the new combat vehicle and its estimated price. It costs, of course, more expensive than the BMP-82, but cheaper than foreign counterparts.

Expected that already in 2015 "Boomerangs" will begin to arrive in military units.