BMP - 3 The BMP - 3 is a Soviet amphibious infantry fighting vehicle , successor to the BMP - 1 and BMP - 2 . The abbreviation BMP stands for " Boevaya Mashina Pehoty " ( , literally " Infantry Combat Vehicle " ) . Production history . The design of the BMP - 3 or Obyekt 688M can be traced back to the " Obyekt " 685 light tank prototype with 100 mm gun 2A48 - 1 from 1975 . This vehicle didn ' t enter series production but the chassis , with a new engine , was used for the next - generation infantry combat vehicle " Obyekt " 688 from A . Blagonravov ' s design bureau . The Ob . 688 weapons configuration — an externally - mounted 30 mm gun and twin " Konkurs " ATGM launcher — was rejected ; instead the new 2K23 armament system was selected . The resulting BMP - 3 was developed in the early 1980s and entered service with the Soviet army officially in 1987 . It was shown for the first time in public during the 1990 May Day parade and was given the NATO code IFV M1990 / 1 . The BMP - 3 is designed and produced by the Kurgan Machine Building Plant ( Kurganmashzavod - KMZ ) , some variants however are build by the Rubtsovsk Machine Building Plant ( RMZ ) , for example the BRM - 3K . Design . Weaponry and optics . The BMP - 3 is one of the most heavily armed infantry combat vehicles in service , fitted with a low - velocity 2A70 100mm rifled gun , which can fire conventional shells or ATGM s 9M117 ( AT - 10 Stabber ) ( 40 100mm rounds and 8 ATGMs are carried ) , a 2A72 30mm dual feed autocannon with 500 rounds and a rate of fire of 350 to 400 RPM , and a 7 . 62mm PKT machine gun with 2 , 000 rounds , all mounted coaxially in the turret . The main gun elevates from −5° to + 60° . There are also two 7 . 62mm PKT bow machine guns , again with 2 , 000 rounds each . The BMP - 3 is capable of engaging targets out to 5 , 000 – 6 , 000 meters with its ATGM weapon system 9K116 - 3 " Basnya " . If the missile launcher is destroyed , missile guidance ceases and the missile may miss its target . The minimum engagement distance , flight time and vulnerability of launcher are typical of command - guided , rather than fire - and - forget , ATGM systems . With conventional ammunition , such as the HE - Frag shell 3OF32 , the 2A70 gun has a range of 4 , 000 meters . The 3BM25 APFSDS round can also be used . According to the manufacturer ' s web - site , all weapons can be fired from the halt , on the move , and afloat with the same effectiveness . The ability to hit targets on the move with missiles was successfully demonstrated during competitive evaluations in the UAE in 1991 . The turret is fitted with the 2K23 system which consists of an automatic loader with 22 rounds ( the remaining 18 rounds are stored in the hull ) , a ballistic computer 1V539 , a cross - wind sensor , a 2E52 - 2 stabilising system , the 1D16 - 3 laser range finder , the 1K13 - 2 gunner ' s sight / guidance device , the PPB - 1 gunner ' s sight and an OU - 5 - 1 IR search light . The commander has a combined optical sight 1PZ - 10 , a day / night vision device TKN - 3MB and an IR search light OU - 3GA2 . Since 2005 , the BMP - 3 can be fitted with a new fire control system from " Peleng " Joint Stock Company from Belarus . This consists of the SOZH - M gunner ' s main sight with integrated laser range - finder and missile - guidance channel , the Vesna - K targeting system with thermal imaging camera and automatic target tracker AST - B , an armament stabilisation system , a ballistic computer with data input sensors and a PL - 1 IR laser projector . Standard equipment includes five firing ports with associated vision blocks , a tranceiver R - 173 , a receiver R - 173P , a GO - 27 radiation and chemical agent detector , an FVU filtration system , an automatic fire extinguisher and six smoke grenade launchers 81mm 902V " Tucha - 2 " . Mobility . The vehicle has an unconventional layout . The engine is in the back of the vehicle to the right ( unlike in most other IFV which have the engine located forward in the hull ) . As a result the driver is seated forward in the hull ( in the center ) together with two infantrymen ( one on each side of the driver ) . The vehicle has a double bottom and the engine is located under the floor of the vehicle ( troops enter / leave the vehicle over the engine ) . In an effort to improve battlefield survivability the fuel tanks are also located in the floor of the vehicle . The remaining five infantrymen are seated aft of the two man turret . Early models were powered by a 450 hp engine UTD - 29 , but most BMP - 3s are equipped with the 500 hp UTD - 29M version . The engine was developed at the Transmash Diesel Engine Plant in Barnaul . The BMP - 3 can pass more than 300 km without stopping or realigning equipment , further , it has a built in toilet inside the hull for crew to use . Countermeasures . The hull and turret are made of aluminium , with the front being provided with a layer of spaced armor . Over the frontal 60 degree arc the vehicle is protected against 30 mm armor - piercing rounds of 2A42 gun at a range of 300 m . In an effort to improve battlefield survivability the fuel tanks are also located in the floor of the vehicle . The BMP - 3 can lay its own smoke screen by injecting fuel into the exhaust . A chemical agent detector , an FVU filtration system , an automatic fire extinguisher and six smoke grenade launchers 81mm 902V " Tucha - 2 " are standard . An ERA reactive armour kit is currently available providing increased protection , however , using ERA on an IFV is considered problematic by some experts since in the event of the malfunction of the ERA , it can possibly pose a threat to friendly troops located in the vicinity of the vehicle . The BMP - 3 has also an ability to carry Shtora electro - optical jammer that disrupts semiautomatic command to line of sight ( SACLOS ) antitank guided missiles , laser rangefinders and target designators . Shtora is a soft - kill , or passive - countermeasure system . Operators . The majority of BMP - 3s are in use outside of Russia with the United Arab Emirates being the largest foreign operator :