Russia Demos New Remote-Controlled Combat Module on Armored Personnel Carrier

The Russian Military-Industrial Company (VPK) demonstrated a new remote-controlled combat module (DUBM) mounted on a BTR-82 armored personnel carrier to the Ministry of Defense.

“The Deputy Minister of Defense demonstrated firing from a 30-mm automatic cannon and a 7.62-mm machine gun paired with it. 900 - 500 m (for a coaxial machine gun). All targets were successfully hit from the first rounds," Krasovitsky, VPK General Director, was quoted as saying by Interfax on Monday.

The new combat module can be installed on modernized infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, other combat and special vehicles, combat boats, light warships, stationary checkpoints and firing points.

He claims that the new combat module is better than all existing foreign-made ones. “It has significantly greater angles of aiming 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 combat modules provide such opportunities.”

DUBM 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.

The new thermal imaging channel has improved the detection range of BMP-BTR-type targets at night as well as in poor visibility conditions (dust, rain, snow, fog) from 1,200 m to 3,000 m.

The combat module can strike moving targets while on the move. It is controlled from the automated workstation of the gunner-operator, installed in the chassis of the combat vehicle, on which the DBM is mounted.