The KamAZ-43269 is the factory designation of the armoured vehicle better known as the BPM-97, or «Vystrel» (Gunshot). It is a four-wheel-drive mine-resistant vehicle built on the chassis of the KamAZ-4326 truck and intended above all for the Russian border guards.
KamAZ-43269 (BPM-97) at a glance
| Maker | Remdizel, Naberezhnye Chelny |
|---|---|
| Hull | Kurganmashzavod |
| Base chassis | KamAZ-4326, 4×4 |
| Development started | 1997 |
| Layout | 4×4, mine-resistant armoured vehicle |
| Protection class | 6, Br5 from 2014 |
| Upper hull | 12.7 mm machine gun at 300 m |
| Lower hull | 7.62×54R rifle at 30 m |
| Armament | 7.62 to 14.5 mm machine guns; 30 mm 2A42 in some turrets |
| Fuel | two 125 l tanks and a 20 l reserve |
| Overhaul interval | 270,000 km |
| Operators | Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Syria |
History of the KamAZ-43269 (BPM-97)
Development began in 1997 at the Special Machine Building research centre of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University together with KamAZ. The armoured vehicle was meant to replace, in hot spots and on dangerous stretches of the border, the GAZ-66 that was then the border guards’ main transport. After the 1998 default state funding stopped and the project dragged on; in 1999 a mock-up was shown to the public. To cover development costs when state orders were few, the vehicles were offered to civilian companies, which used them to carry explosives, cash and valuables.
After export permission was granted in 2005, trial batches went to Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Service revealed serious defects, among them broken propeller shafts, broken springs and cracks in the armour plates of several vehicles, and Kazakhstan refused the second batch already produced. In 2008 the Russian Ministry of Defence bought that batch instead. Three improved vehicles were then built for state trials, after which the BPM-97 was accepted by the border service of the FSB and, by order of 14 August 2008, by the Russian armed forces; in 2009 several took part in the Zapad-2009 exercises.
The vehicle is assembled at the Remdizel plant in Naberezhnye Chelny, where a welded armoured hull from Kurganmashzavod is married to the units and assemblies of the KamAZ-4326 4×4 truck. The use of series-produced components simplified manufacture and repair, cut the price and allowed the vehicle to be serviced with the tools used for KamAZ trucks, which brought the interval before major overhaul to 270,000 km. Modernisation work with communications equipment, armament and other systems is carried out at Muromteplovoz. Kazakhstan ordered further vehicles for its border service and national guard, and the type has also been used in the war in Ukraine, where several were destroyed or captured.
Design and features
- Mine-resistant hull: welded steel of protection class 6, Br5 from 2014, with a reinforced floor.
- Survivability: the upper hull stops 12.7 mm fire at 300 m, the lower part 7.62×54R rifles at 30 m.
- Flexible armament: turret or pintle mounts for 7.62, 12.7 and 14.5 mm machine guns, with a 30 mm 2A42 autocannon in some turrets.
- Living equipment: two protected 125-litre tanks, a 20-litre reserve, an autonomous heater and a filter-ventilation unit.
- KamAZ logistics: series truck components and a 270,000 km overhaul interval.
KamAZ-43269 (BPM-97) versions
- BPM-97: the version for the border troops.
- KamAZ-43269 «Dozor»: a reconnaissance modification for the army.
- KamAZ-43269 «Vystrel»: the upgraded version with revised wipers, relocated air intake and a new air cleaning system, shown at Bronnitsy in 2011.
- SBA-60K2 «Bulat»: an enlarged 6×6 development built by Zashchita.
- 15M107: a remote mine-clearing machine of 2010 based on the «Vystrel».
- Item 69501: a three-axle armoured vehicle photographed in 2009 and attributed to the same line.
The BPM-97 is built on the chassis of the KamAZ-4326 truck, and the three-axle KamAZ-43118 is the heaviest of the classic off-road KamAZ flatbeds. More trucks are in the KamAZ collection.
Sources
- BPM-97, English Wikipedia: history, armament, operators
- КамАЗ-43269, Russian Wikipedia: development, construction, protection
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