BMP

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BMP - 1

BMP - 2

The Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty or "BMP" for short, is a series of simple but reliable Infantry Fighting Vehicles produced by the Soviet union, and notable for being the first type of it's class.

The vehicle combines the role of a light tank and APC, allowing it to transport troops and reliably support them in combat roles at the same time. The vehicle's traditional armament is a 73mm autocannon and co-axial mounted machine gun. As it's cannon is generally incapable of penetrating front-line tank armor, it also had the option of being equipped with an auxiliary AT-3 Sagger wide-guided missile launcher to deal with heavier threats

In Team Yankee

The BMP comes in two different flavors for the motor-rifle company; the anti-armor BMP-1 and the autocannon toting BMP-2. Both have the traditional national profiles, with Soviet crews having superior discipline while EG crews are capable of performing orders with some reliability.

For all purposes; the BMP-1's Sagger missile is largely irrelevant thanks to its feeble AT19 being rather useless unless popping non-tank vehicles from a distance. However, the BMP-1 distinguishes itself from the rest of the Soviet mechanized fleet by providing cheap, massed 3+ FP. While incapable of defeating tanks, its raw stats can comfortably destroy literally anything else with enough shots. Ultimately, a solid anti-armor vehicle suited to probing weak points in the enemy line, flanking and engaging enemy soft-skins.

On the other hand, the BMP-2 pays a price premium for a more versatile kit. Toting an AT21 ATGM and a 3/2 ROF autocannon, it has a weapon for every situation. While autocannons may be poor choices to kill, they can force mass bails with many failed FP tests. They fare rather poorly against infantry as well, lacking the LAVs' ROF 3 on the move. Their autocannons do boast anti-helicopter though, so you could use them as part of your AA net if needed. Unique to the game, the BMP-2 provides a cheap source of mechanized, massed ATGM fire. As expected, these are best used in a defensive role to trade against enemy tanks. With NATO's firepower advantage, expect to take losses before loosing a volley of missiles. A versatile unit capable of handling any situation, but expensive.

TLDR: Cheap(er) and mobile anti-armor VS expensive, jack of all trades

The BMP is currently deployed by both Russian forces and the East Germans. Expect to have MANY more national versions; the BMP was the AK-47 of the PACT's mechanized units.

IRL

The BMP-1 was a revolution in armored warfare as it pioneered the Infantry Fighting Vehicle, combining the Armored Personnel Carrier with the light tank to create a vehicle that could not only safely carry troops under fire, but also use its own firepower to support them. Armed with a 73mm cannon, the BMP wasn't expected to take out enemy tanks on its own, but it was formidable enough to threaten enemy infantry and light vehicles. In particular, the BMP was designed specifically to be radiation-shielded so that in the event of a nuclear attack, Soviet infantry could still advance in hazardous conditions. Created in the 1960s, the BMP-1 was eventually succeeded by the BMP-2 in 1980, which replaced the 73mm cannon with a 30mm autocannon. The BMP seemingly has major flaw in the fact that the rear doors are the fuel tanks, but this is not exactly true. You see, the BMP has a main tank in the hull, the door tanks are used for road marches and long range non combat movement and are supposed to be cut off from fuel lines, drained and filled with sand before operations, for extra protection and fire safety, a standard practice in soviet vehicles and their limited spaces. Yet not exactly practiced when by crews. The BMP-1 has terrible elevation meaning if anyone is high enough the vehicle can't shoot them. The BMP-2 uses a 30mm cannon to fix the elevation issues.

Oh and if the BMP looks a bit familiar to you Imperial Guard treadheads, yes, it was indeed the inspiration behind the Chimera (though the firing ports with pre-installed guns are obviously from "Bradley"). And by "inspiration," we mean that (in true GW fashion) if there was a company that made 28mm BMP models you would be able to proxy them for Chimeras almost perfectly, as there really isn't any appreciable difference between the two vehicles.