The Kurganets-25 (Russian: Курганец-25) is a tracked, 25 ton fully-amphibious infantry fighting vehicle developed by Kurganmashzavod,designed for the Airborne and Ground Forces of Russia, was unveiled at the Moscow Victory Day Parade in May 2015.
Sometimes this vehicle is simply referred as Kurganets. In 2011 Russian Ministry of Defense issued a requirement for a successor of the BMP-3 that becomes out dated. The new IFV was developed alongside a Bumerang wheeled armored personnel carrier.
The whole project was kept in high secrecy. The Kurganets-25 was first publicly revealed in 2015.
It was planned that Kurganets-25 will replace the ageing BMP-1 and BMP-2 IFVs in service with the Russian Army. However these plans are questionable due to funding problems. As of 2015 only a handful of pre-production vehicles were built. It is expected that a full-scale production will commence in 2016.
This new-generation infantry fighting vehicle has little in common with the BMP-3. The Kurganets-25 was developed from scratch. Some drawbacks of the BMP-3, such as a cramped crew compartment and cramped exit, were fixed. It has been reported that a number of components and subsystems are interchangeable with the Bumerang armored personnel carrier.
The Kurganets-25 IFV has a welded hull and turret. Its armor is made of special aluminum alloy. Vehicle has modular armor with add-on armor modules. So protection level can be tailored to counter specific threats or to suit mission requirements. It has been reported that armor protection of the Kurganets-25 is superior to that of the BMP-3, but inferior to that of the M2A3 Bradley.
It seems that this vehicle can be fitted with newly-developed Drozd-2 active protection system. Also is seems that it comes with newly developed countermeasures system, the reduces the chance of being hit by enemy ATGW with semi-automatic guidance. It might be a slimed-down version of the Shtora, used on the T-90 main battle tank.
Design and protection
The Kurganets-25 BMP uses the common chassis of the Kurganets tracked vehicle platform. The hull of the Kurganets-25 could be made of light armour with the driver's compartment at the front of the vehicle on the left, engine compartment to his right and the troop compartment at the rear. The infantry enter and leave the vehicle through a large hydraulically operated ramp at the rear of the hull, which has an additional door in the center. The driver is seated at the front of the vehicle, and has a single-piece hatch cover and three day periscopes for forward observation, the centre one of which can be replaced by a night vision periscope. Back of the driver position and at the front base of the turret there is three more hatches. The Kurganets-25 BMP carries a total of 9 soldiers, including driver, commander, gunner and 6 infantrymen.
Armament
The Kurganets-25 infantry fighting vehicle is equipped with the KBP EPOCH turret, introduced as standard in all recent AFVs, such as the Armata T-15, Boomerang and Kurganets-25. This unmanned turret carries the 2A42 30mm cannon with 500 rounds, a PKT 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, four Kornet-EM guided missiles (two on each side), two electro-optical target acquisition and missile guidance systems, and a meteorological mast. Also an array of sensors and counter-measures, part of the vehicle’s active protection system ‘soft kill’ elements.
The hull also mounts 16 large tubes and four sensors associated with the Afghanit ‘hard kill’ active protection system. A LED spotlight located at the turret’s front end could also be part of the APS, acting as a decoy against 2nd-generation anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM).
Protection
The armoured combat vehicle incorporates an Afghanit active protection system (APS), which provides protection against anti-tank guided missiles as well as rocket-propelled grenades. Occupants are protected from a variety of threats from the modular armour systems.
The passive armour protection, nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) protection kit, and smoke grenade dischargers aboard the vehicle provide improved crew survivability. The IFV can be equipped with additional protection systems to meet specific mission needs.
Fire control
Weaponry is controlled by an on-board computer-based automatic firing control system, which is capable of selecting the targets automatically in both active and passive modes.
The driver is provided with three periscopes for forward observation during day time.
Sighting equipment for the gunner and commanders includes a thermal imager, an eye-safe laser rangefinder, and multispectral sights. Cameras installed on the vehicle offer full 360° view and situation awareness for the crew.
The turret is equipped with a global positioning system (GPS) / inertial navigation system (INS) and modern sensors.
Propulsion and performance
Power for the Kurganets-25 infantry fighting vehicle comes from an 800hp turbocharged diesel engine coupled to a transmission system. The vehicle can run at speeds up to 80km/h on highways and has a range of approximately 500km.
The IFV has seven rubber-tired road wheels on both sides. It can negotiate gradients of 60% and side slopes of 40%. The torsion bar suspension system allows the vehicle to overcome obstacles on difficult terrains.
Two water-jets are fitted at the rear section, enabling the vehicle to perform amphibious operations. The Kurganets-25 can travel at a speed of 10km/h on water.
Entered service Expected in 2016
Crew 3 men
Personnel 7 men
Dimensions and weight
Weight ~ 25 t
Length ~ 7.2 m
Width ~ 4 m
Height ~ 3.2 m
Armament
Main gun 30-mm
ATGW Kornet-M
Machine guns 1 x 7.62-mm
Ammunition load
Main gun 500 rounds
ATGW 4
Machine guns 2 000 x 7.62-mm
Mobility
Engine diesel
Engine power 500 ~ 800 hp
Maximum road speed ~ 80 km/h
Amphibious speed on water 10 km/h
Range ~ 500 km
Maneuverability
Gradient 60%
Side slope 40%
Vertical step ~ 0.7 m
Trench ~ 1.8 m
Fording Amphibious