Combat Infantry Vehicles (BMP) in Combat.

The Soviet BMP combat infantry vehicle is not a tank, but it is certainly much more than an armored personnel carrier in the traditional sense of the term. This amphibious, highly maneuverable vehicle has tremendous fire power. It mounts a 73mm smooth bore gun and a 7.62mm, co-axial machinegun both with maximum effective ranges of approximately 1000 meters and antitank guided missiles 4-5 Saggers with a maximum effective range of 3000 meters. The BMP was first paraded before foreign observers on 7 November 1967 in Moscow. It has replaced older personnel carriers in many Soviet and some Warsaw Pact divisions, and it is becoming the standard combat vehicle for the Soviet rifle squad.