BRDM-2

The **BRDM-2** is a light attack vehicle in Squad, introduced in the A9 update, operated by the Insurgents, Irregular Militia, Russian Ground Forces, and Middle Eastern Alliance.

## General Information

The BRDM-2 is a four-wheel Soviet Russian amphibious armored patrol and scout car. It was designed by V. K. Rubtsov in 1962 and adopted by the Soviet Army in the same year as the standard armored patrol car for their military forces. The BRDM-2's military service ended in 1991 when the Soviet Army dissolved, and the Soviet Army's successor, the Russian Ground Foces, adopted the BRDM-2's modern variant, the BRDM-2M in the same year. The BRDM-2, like all of the Soviet Union's vehicles, was exported to many Communist-aligned countries. Many variants were created out of the BRDM-2, such as the Polish BRDM-2M-96 and the Ukrainian BRDM-2D.

The BRDM-2 was adopted as the standard armored patrol car of the Soviet Army from late 1962 to 1991, replacing its predecessor the BRDM-1. The Soviet Army's successor, the Russian Ground Forces (RGF), later used the BRDM-2's modern variant, the BRDM-2M, as the standard multi-purpose fully amphibious armored patrol car in 1991. Like all Soviet equipment, the BRDM-2 was also sold to many Arab and African countries. It is currently used by 38 armies. The BRDM-2 enjoyed popularity on the export market because it was cheap, easy to operate and reliable. These factors also make it extremely popular with Insurgents and Irregular Militia forces. It is unknown if the vehicles amphibious abilities will become useful in later updates to Squad if large bodies of water are added.

The BRDM-2 weighs 7 tonnes (7.7 short tons; 6.9 long tons), is 5.75 m (18 ft 10 in) long, 2.37 m (7 ft 9 in) wide, and 2.31 m (7 ft 7 in) tall. The BRDM-2 can hold a crew of four, but usually three (the driver, commander, and the gunner; other is the co-driver). The vehicle has welded steel armor, which is designed to withstand gunfire, a turret with a KPVT 14.5mm heavy machine gun that has a 5x magnification periscope for the commander, and improved amphibious capabilities. It can reach 60 kph (37.28 mph) in 14 seconds and can reach up to a top speed of 108 kph (67.11 mph).

## Gameplay

The BRDM-2 is used by both rebel factions: the Insurgents and the Irregular Militia, and the upgraded version is used by the Russian Ground Forces. Its armour protects it from all forms of small arms fire and grenades, and it's KPVT 14.5mm heavy machine gun gives it the same firepower as the BTR-80 whilst being considerably smaller. The BRDM-2 is also the second fastest vehicle in Squad, which can prove an advantage in mobility and ambushing.

* The BRDM-2 holds a maximum of 3 players (5 for the Irregular Militia and the Insurgents); a driver, a gunner, and a commander who operates a 5x zoom periscope. The Spandrel variant has the same layout.
* The BRDM-2's armor will hold out against light infantry weapons, but the armor is not strong enough to last long against HMGs or any other heavy weapons equipped by heavier vehicles. Unlike its counterparts, none of the occupants can be killed by outside fire while inside the vehicle until the vehicle itself is destroyed.
* The BRDM-2's KPVT 14.5 mm machine gun can easily mow down entire squads of infantry and can destroy lighter vehicles such as Technicals, M-ATV's, Tigr-M's, and trucks quickly. Whilst the KPVT is technically capable of destroying BTR's, M1126's, LAV III's, LAV 6.0's and MT-LB's, these vehicles have stronger armor than the BRDM-2 and will destroy it in a straight up duel (The PKT MT-LB is an exception to this as its PKT machine gun cannot harm the BRDM). Every other variant of the aforementioned vehicles will probably outlast a BRDM.
* The BRDM-2's turret comes equipped with the KPVT 14.5mm HMG (50 rounds in each belt, 9 in reserve) and a coaxial 7.62mm PKT machine gun (250 rounds in each belt, 5 in reserve) designed for use against infantry targets. The gunner also operates the vehicles smoke grenade launchers which, when fired, create a smoke screen around the front of the vehicle shrouding it from view. The MEA variant also comes with 32 *S-5* rockets in its UB-32. The Spandrel variant has no secondary armament and no smoke launchers.
* The BRDM-2 has high speed and maneuverability making it an effective hit-and-run choice or good for scouting for hostile vehicles, especially with a dedicated periscope position.
* Do not underestimate the usefulness of a having a dedicated vehicle commander. Filling that third seat means acting as another set of eyes, coordinating with the rest of the team, and making decisions on when and where to bring your fire support, freeing up the gunner to concentrate solely on engaging targets.
* The MEA BRDM-2 is deceptively powerful. The 32 *S-5* rockets carried by the UB-32 rocket pods are very potent against most armored targets, with one full salvo (32 rockets) proving more than enough to kill an IFV. Use this to your advantage.

 Secondary Armament
 MEA Tertiary Scout Car Armament
 Countermeasure

## Variants

### BRDM-2 Scout Car

The BRDM-2 Scout Car is armed with a 14.5mm KPVT heavy machine gun, a coaxial PKT general purpose machine gun, and smoke launchers. It is a fast light attack vehicle, whose armor is immune to small arms fire. None of the occupants can be shot from outside the vehicle. Like other light attack vehicles, it does not need a Crewman kit to operate. It has three seats for a driver, gunner, and vehicle commander. It also carries 300 ammo points for resupplying troops and FOBs.

The MEA have an exclusive variant of the BRDM-2 Scout Car equipped with a turret-mounted UB-32 rocket pod which fires 32 *S-5* rockets, the same ones found on the rocket artillery Technicals of the Insurgents and Irregular Militia. These rockets are powerful and have long range, but they are very inaccurate. They can also be used against enemy armor and is actually pretty potent, provided the rockets hit the intended target. A full salvo of 32 rockets is enough to kill any IFV in the game. The rocket pod is semi-automatic, but has a generous fire rate cap enabling the gunner to fire the full salvo of 32 rockets in under a minute. Firing the rockets generate a small amount of backblast which can damage and even kill anyone behind the launcher when it fires. Unlike the rocket Technical, the BRDM-2 rocket pod only comes with 32 rockets, which means once depleted, they can only be rearmed again at a Repair Station. They also take a considerable amount of time to rearm.

### BRDM-2 Spandrel

* The BRDM-2 Spandrel variant was added to Squad in update A13. The name "Spandrel" is derived from the NATO reporting name for the missile that it carries, which was called the AT-5 Spandrel, or the 9M113 'Konkurs'.
* This variant is equipped with a roof-mounted launcher that contains five 9M113 Konkurs anti-tank guided missiles designed to destroy enemy vehicles. These missiles can be fired in rapid succession or one at a time, dealing a devastating amount of damage against enemy armor up to a maximum range of 1750 meters.
* The five missiles in the launcher are the only armament the vehicle has, and it must be rearmed at a repair station after all the tubes have been emptied.
* The vehicle is available to the Russian Ground Forces, Middle Eastern Alliance, Insurgents, and Irregular Militia in order to boost their anti-vehicle capabilities. There is no in-game difference between the Spandrels used by the different factions.

The primary strength of this variant is its combination of mobility and firepower. Most of the other vehicles that carry ATGMs are either much slower, larger (far easier to spot), or less maneuverable. The only other vehicles that have similar mobility, and carries missiles are the M-ATV TOW and Simir Kornet. Even then, they can fire only one missile at a time, and has to reload after every shot. This vehicle allows a team to deploy powerful anti-tank capability much faster and much cheaper than any other option currently available in-game. It has an extended respawn time however, similar to that of an APC.

## Trivia

* BRDM stands for *Boyevaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina* (Боевая Разведывательная Дозорная Машина) meaning from Russian to English, "Combat Reconnaissance/Patrol Vehicle". 2 is the model number.
* The BRDM received a new engine sound with the V12 update.
* The BRDM (Militia) can carry up to 5 people with the V20 update.

## See Also

* BRDM-2 on Wikipedia
* Insurgents
* Irregular Militia
* Russian Ground Forces
* Vehicles
* KPVT
* PKT