By the 1960s, the Soviet military had become concerned that future battlefields would be dominated by the use of tactical nuclear weapons, making unprotected infantry entirely useless. In response, they developed the Boyevaya Mashina Pyekhoty (“infantry fighting vehicle”) which would enclose an infantry squad in an armoured carrier offering protection from radiation, while allowing the unit to retain some degree of combat effectiveness even when sealed inside. It was to be tracked, fast enough to keep up with tanks, and carry the firepower to threaten enemy vehicles.
First manufactured in 1966, the BMP is a long, low vehicle with an overhanging wedge-shaped prow. The engine is mounted in the front, and the hull narrows slightly towards the rear. The initial production version is nose-heavy and performs poorly (reduce SR by 1) in water.
A small round turret in the centre of the roof mounts a low-velocity gun, a guided missile, and a machine gun, all manned by a single gunner. The gunner has several periscopes and a multi-mode daylight and light intensifying 6× telescopic sight (+2 Acc, Night Vision 2) for the gun. A dual visible light searchlight (GURPS High-Tech p. 228) and infrared illuminator (GURPS High-Tech, p. 47) with a 0.5-mile range is mounted to the right of the gunner’s hatch. The main gun is a 2A28 Grom in an unstabilised mount, with an autoloader feeding from a 40-round vertical carousel surrounding the turret. This autoloader is notoriously unreliable (Malfunctions on 16+, see GURPS Basic Set, p. 407), so it is often reloaded manually. A PKT machine gun (GURPS High-Tech, p. 135) is mounted co-axially to the main gun. The missile is a 9M14 Malyutka (GURPS High-Tech, p. 151). Two of these can be carried in the turret, with two more below. A special hatch (in front of the main turret one) allows a missile to be slid onto the launch rail without exposing the gunner. After this a metal rod is used to unfold the missile’s fins. The turret’s electric motor takes three seconds to change facing.
In the hull forward and left of the turret is the driver’s position. He has a hatch fitted with periscopes, including an infrared one (Night Vision 2), and a pistol port. Controls in the driver’s station allow diesel fuel to be introduced into the exhaust, creating a smokescreen.
Behind the driver is the commander, who has a two-part hatch which provides some protection when open. He is provided with his own array of periscopes and a ×4.2 magnification combined daylight and removable near infrared (Night Vision 2) optic coupled to a 0.25-mile infrared illuminator, but this latter item is prone to being hit by the main gun if the turret is moved incautiously. A medium radio (GURPS High-Tech, p. 38) is mounted behind the commander. Communication with other parts of the vehicle can be achieved through an intercom (GURPS High-Tech: Electricity and Electronics, p. 27).
The rear hull houses the troop compartment, which can be accessed by two doors at the back of the vehicle. Each of these doors contains a fuel tank, and the left-hand one has a firing port in it. Behind these doors are two rows of seating facing outwards, with another fuel tank under them. The seats can officially fit eight soldiers, but in practice this proved to be extremely cramped and most users found that six was a more realistic number. On each side are four firing ports, each equipped with a case deflector and fume extractor which could be attached to a Kalashnikov rifle (GURPS High-Tech, p. 114) or PK machine gun. On the roof of the troop compartment are four hatches, but when these are open they prevent the turret from rotating to face the rear.
Initial production of the BNP “specification 1” was limited, as issues were worked out. By 1969 several minor upgrades had been made, notably correcting the issue of stability in the water by adding an air-filled compartment to the front of the hull. The improved vehicle was named BMP-1 “specification 2” and started to be deployed in large numbers.
Specification 3 (1973) made many more small upgrades and removed the turret autoloader.
The BMP-1P (Specification 4, 1979) removed the launch rail and loading hatch for the 9M14 Malyutka missile, replacing it with a pillar-mount for 9K111 Fagot or 9M113 Konkurs missiles. Smoke dischargers (GURPS High-Tech, p. 229) are mounted on the back of the turret.
Specification 8 (1979) is a specification 3 vehicle with the addition of an AGS-17 Plamya grenade launcher (GURPS High-Tech, p. 142) on the left of the turret. In order to make space for more ammunition, the passenger seating was reduced to seven.
The BMP-1D (1982) or desantnaya (“assault”) is an up-armored version of specification 4, fielded in Afghanistan. The sides of the hull are protected by additional (DR 15) steel plates, as are the underside below the driver and commander. This increases vehicle weight by 0.7 tons, reducing Move to 1/19 and compromising amphibious performance (remove note [1]).
The BMP-1K (1973) komandirskaya (“command”) variants have all firing ports (except the one in the left rear door) removed and the troop compartment is rearranged with three (more spacious) seats (Occ becomes 3+3S), a table, two radios, and a navigation system (+3 Navigation). The BMP-1KSh (1976) komandno-shtabnaya (“command staff”) also removes the weapons and fixes the turret in place (change the t location to s). A telescopic long-range antenna (GURPS High-Tech, p. 39) is fitted in place of the gun. Four radios and an improved navigation system (+4 Navigation) are provided.
DRIVING/TL (TRACKED)
| TL | Vehicle | ST/HP | Hnd/SR | HT | Move | LWt. | Load | SM | Occ. | DR | Range | Cost | Locations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | BMP (Sp1) | 116 | −3/5 | 9x | 2/20 | 13.9 | 1.3 | +4 | 3+8S | 90/45 | 370 | $150k | 2Ct | [1][2] |
| 7 | BMP-1 (Sp2) | 117 | −3/5 | 9x | 2/20 | 14.3 | 1.3 | +4 | 3+8S | 90/45 | 370 | $160k | 2Ct | [1][2] |
| 7 | BMP-1 (Sp3) | 118 | −3/5 | 10x | 2/20 | 14.5 | 1.3 | +4 | 3+8S | 90/45 | 370 | $170k | 2Ct | [1][2] |
| 7 | BMP-1P (Sp4) | 119 | −3/5 | 10x | 2/20 | 14.7 | 1.3 | +4 | 3+8S | 90/45 | 370 | $180k | 2Ct | [1][2] |
[1] Amphibious: water move 1/2.
[2] Higher DR is for hull and turret front. Lower DR is for hull and turret sides and rear. Turret top, hull top, and hull underside have DR 15.