The BMP series were among the first production line infantry fighting vehicles. Included in the series are the mainline BMPs, the airborne variant BMDs, and licensed modified (i.e. MLI-84) and reverse engineered versions (i.e. Boragh, Type 86). BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty (), meaning "infantry fighting vehicle". They were initially developed in the 1960s in the Soviet Union.
Background
World War II began with the concepts of armored warfare relatively undeveloped, particularly the use of combined arms teams. Tank and infantry units were often organized as separate units, which led to problems of command and coordination.
As the war progressed the doctrine of combined arms became better refined, and the need for specialist vehicles to keep the infantry in close contact with the armor became increasingly important. Most of these vehicles were half-tracks. There were expedient measures; the infantry of the Red Army often rode on the top of tanks. In 1944 the Canadians introduced the practice of converting self-propelled guns and tanks to carry infantry - known as "Kangaroos". The Kangaroo pointed the way forward, offering much better armor than half-tracks and able to keep up with the tanks on any terrain.
In the post-war era most armies started introducing fully tracked vehicles in the dedicated armored personnel carrier role, including the Soviet BTR-50, British FV432, and the US M113. These vehicles generally suffered in terms of range and speed, and many forces also adopted wheeled vehicles in addition to, or instead of the tracked versions. In general, these vehicles offered limited protection and were not expected to join in the actual fighting; they would keep the infantry in close proximity with the armor during movement, but upon enemy contact they would unload their infantry before retreating to safer areas - a practice that led to them being called "battlefield taxis" or "battle-taxis". The German Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30 was an exception as it carried a 20mm cannon for support of its infantry and against light vehicles.
During the 1950s this mode of combat was increasingly questioned. Unloading the infantry onto a battlefield that was assumed to be littered with chemical and nuclear poisons did not seem like a good idea. Further, while the APCs moved to and from combat the infantry section in the back had nothing to do, a claustrophobic environment where the men could not add to the fight. Military theorists turned to the concept of the infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), similar to the APC but with the expectation that the infantry section would be able to stay in the vehicle and fight effectively, while also improving the vehicles own armament. The Soviets were the second to adapt to this new style of fully mechanized combat, issuing requirements and then introducing the BMP in mid-1960s, following after the more limited scale Western German Panzergrenadier deployment of the HS.30.
Requirements
The requirement for the BMP was first drawn up in the late 1950s. The requirement stressed speed, good armament, and the ability for all squad members to fire from within the vehicle. The armament had to provide direct support for dismounted infantry in the attack and defense and to be able to destroy comparable light armored vehicles such as the American M59 APC or the West German HS.30 IFV.
The armor was required to protect the crew and passengers from light shell fragments as well as .50 cal armor-piercing bullets and 20–23 mm caliber autocannons across the frontal arc at distances between 500 m and 800 m (the distance of infantrymen dismounting onto the battlefield during an attack). Side armor should be capable of withstanding 7.62 mm armor-piercing bullets from a distance of 75 m. The requirements also included an NBC protection system, observation devices similar to those used in MBTs and a radio capable of communicating with unit commanders and tanks.
The original specification called for the vehicle to be armed with a autocannon, however an innovative combination of the 73 mm 2A28 Grom low pressure smoothbore semi-automatic gun firing rocket-assisted projectiles and the newly developed 9S428 anti tank wire guided missile (ATGM) launcher for the selected 9M14 "Malyutka" (AT-3A Sagger A) ATGMs was used instead. The gun was intended to engage enemy armored vehicles and firing points at a range of up to , while the missile launcher was intended to be used against targets that were to away. The smoothbore gun and the ATGM launching system were to be mounted in a compact one-man turret from the Tula Instrument Engineering Design Bureau (KBP).