The BMPT “Terminator” was not able to make a turning point on the Donbas battlefield as expected by Russia, because the Russian army still had to rely on artillery.
The Russian military is said to have not been able to create the correct concept of use for the “BMPT Terminator” for a period of up to 10 years, resulting in its very lackluster role on the Ukrainian battlefield.
This tank support combat vehicle has been present on the battlefield in the Eastern Donbas region since mid-May. Russian armored units use BMPTs attached to main tanks to enhance maneuvering tactics.
The main activity of the “Terminator” on the battlefield is to support the tank, not the main fighting vehicle. BMPT stands for “Boevaya Mashina Podderzhki Tankov (Tank Support Combat Vehicle)”.
The idea is that the “terminator” can take down infantry with fast and powerful fire, suppressing soldiers firing anti-tank missiles. Fire support from the BMPT will help prevent ambushes for the tank to maneuver through the enemy’s defenses.
This tank is equipped with the latest protection features, it has Relikt explosive reactive armor on top of the T-72 tank chassis – this armor is also seen on variants of the main battle tan T-80 and T-90.
The weapon of the BMPT is very impressive with the twin-barreled 2A42 30 × 165 mm cannon with a rate of fire of 10 rounds per second. That’s what gives the Terminator’s turret its distinctive look, it also fires Ataka anti-tank guided missiles and has a 30mm grenade launcher. BMPT is equipped with four anti tank missiles.
According to Defense Express, in the battles in Eastern Ukraine, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation used a total of 10 combat vehicles to support the BMPT Terminator tank.
But for some reason, the experience of the Russian Army using the “Terminator” turned out to be unsuccessful, and the war showed the stalemate of the BMPT Terminator concept.
Mr. Mykola Salamakha, a military expert and lieutenant colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in a conversation with Mr. Serhii Zgurtsev – director of Defense Express Magazine made some remarkable remarks.
Expert Salahama explained, in 10-15 years of theoretical discussion, the Russian Army has not been able to create a unified concept of using combat vehicles to support BMPT Terminator tanks in actual combat conditions.
The Russian military’s combat curriculum has no provisions on how to use these “Terminators”. Therefore, leading to the fact that out of 10 BMPTs participating in the war, at least 1 vehicle was destroyed, and some others were damaged and were brought to Russia for repair.
In addition, as the Ukrainian expert said, the Russians have “overdone” in making the combat module for their BMPT Terminator.
For example, a gunner would have to simultaneously control the firing of two automatic cannons. In addition, only one type of ammunition can be used during the firing process, which is armor piercing or fragmentation explosion.
As a result, the BMPT Terminator can fight using both armor-piercing and shrapnel shells, making it in some ways inferior to the BMP-2 infantry combat vehicle which is equipped with only a 30 mm automatic gun
The Ukrainian military expert concluded: “In modern warfare, there is no place for vehicles based on the Russian-made BMPT Terminator concept.”