A newly developed remote-controlled weapon station (RCWS), BTR-BM (BTR Bumerang), mounted on the chassis of an armuored personnel carrier BTR-82, was demonstrated during the visit of the Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation Alexey Krivoruchko at one of the training grounds of the Mlitary Industrial Company (VPK) and LLC WEAPON WORKSHOPS.
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"The Deputy Minister of Defence was shown firing from a 30-mm automatic cannon and a 7.62-mm machine gun paired with it. The shooting was conducted from a standstill and on the move on rough terrain at emerging and moving targets at ranges of 1500 - 1000 metres (for the automatic cannon) and 900 - 500 m (for the coaxial machine gun). All targets were successfully hit from the first rounds," General Director Krasovitsky VPK told Interfax on Monday.
The BTR-BM RCWS was developed on an initiative basis by the designers and engineers of LLC VPK and LLC WEAPON WORKSHOPS.
Krivoruchko said that "the new combat module, developed jointly with colleagues from the WEAPON WORKSHOPS, compares favorably with all analogues existing in the world [...] In particular, the fact that it has significantly greater angles of pointing weapons in the vertical plane, the ability to replenish ammunition without leaving the vehicle, as well as the ability to operate in emergency mode in the absence of power supply. To date, none of the existing RCWSs has such opportunities."
RCWS BTR-BM is equipped with an automated fire control system. It includes a ballistic computer, a two-plane weapon stabilizer and electric guidance drives, a combined (day-night) gunner's sighting system with independent line-of-sight stabilization with television, thermal imaging, laser rangefinder channels, and an ATGM control channel, as well as an automatic target tracking, Krasovitsky explained.
Thanks to the thermal imaging channel, the detection range of BMP-BTR-type targets at night, as well as in poor visibility conditions (dust, rain, snow, fog) increased from 1,200 metres to 3,000 metres significantly increases the likelihood of hitting moving targets on the move. The combat module is controlled from the automated workstation of the gunner-operator, installed in the chassis of the combat vehicle, on which the RCWS is mounted.
According to Krasovitsky, the new combat module can be installed on modernised infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), armoured personnel carriers (APC), other combat and special vehicles, combat boats, light warships, stationary checkpoints, and firing points."
"In terms of the composition of weapons, security and the ability to solve tactical and fire missions, an armored personnel carrier equipped with a BTR-BM RCWS, in fact, turns into a wheeled BMP," Krasovitsky said.
Source: Interfax AVN
