BRDM-2

History

The BRDM-2 was primarily used as a reconnaissance tank for the Soviet Army during the height of the Cold War. It was a drop-in replacement for the limited BRDM-1 series of reconnaissance vehicles, and like many Soviet Cold War products, the newer BRDM-2 proved to be an inexpensive but powerful system, making it a popular export product around the world. Thousands of examples were eventually produced, and the genre was widely used during several major global conflicts between the 1960s and 2000s. While still serving many countries around the world (mainly Soviet Union customers), the BRDM-2 is still a limited product today on the modern battlefield.

Regardless, it has proven itself to be a combat-ready system that pays off from its fairly simple but completely reliable design.

PT-76 Light Tank

In 1949, the design of a new amphibious light tank was proposed for reconnaissance missions by the Soviet Army. This design evolved into the PT-76, which entered service in August 1952.

The PT-76 was well suited to the burgeoning Soviet doctrine of maneuvering forces, offering unprecedented rapid access to land and water. What the new system now requires is a similar reconnaissance vehicle that can match the inherent mobility of the new light tank - something that is currently elusive in the current Soviet stockpile of existing products.

Thus, the BRDM-1 reconnaissance vehicle was born.

BRDM-1

The BRDM-1 (originally called "BRDM" before "BRDM-2") was the first reconnaissance vehicle design, first appearing in Soviet Army inventory in 1957 (1954 design). Notable are its 4x4 off-road capabilities and amphibious qualities, the former aided by a pair of powered belly wheels, the latter in the form of rear-mounted waterjets. The engine is mounted in the front of the fuselage, and the crew compartment is located in the middle rear. The BRDM-1 lived a healthy life, with more than 10,000 prototypes built in various battlefield configurations and supplied to most of the Soviet Union - it was also suitable for carrying a range of anti-tank missiles, taking its tactical utility to the next level . However, the design of the BRDM-1 is inherently limited. She neither maintained a trainable turret system (gunners had to operate external machine guns in the face of enemy fire) nor protected her crew from nuclear wara common practice during the Cold War.

Additionally, she was not wearing night vision goggles, making her a liability in such an environment. To make matters worse, the BRDM-1 also lacks any kind of specialized reconnaissance vision equipment - a rather disadvantageous condition given its role as a reconnaissance reconnaissance vehicle.

BRDM-2

So, it didn't take long for the BRDM-2 series of reconnaissance vehicles to be born, "correcting mistakes" for the previous design. The BRDM-2 first appeared in 1962 (the design is credited to V.K. Rubtsov) and came online as a drop-in replacement for the BRDM-1.

The BRDM-2 brought several important improvements that resulted in a better systemincluding modifications and improvements to amphibious capabilities, on-road/off-road performance, and armament. Additionally, the BRDM-2 is equipped with NBC protection (nuclear, biological, chemical) and night vision. The engine was moved to the rear of the fuselage, and the crew compartment was centrally located in the front. A powered turret was added to hold the weapon, and the powered belly wheel was retained.

Production is taken over at the Molotov GAZ plant in Gorky, Russia. In total, about 7,200 prototypes were produced (from 1962 to 1989), and at peak usage, the BRDM-2 was used in about 40 countries.

She was a frequent visitor to Soviet Pride parades during the Cold War and was first publicly seen by Western observers in 1966.

BRDM-2 Tour

The BRDM-2 is easily overlooked on the basis of looks alone, as it maintains a more functional look and has few credits. However, it is a powerful wheel system that is used worldwide.

The design features her four large wheels providing full 4x4 support and mounted on leaf springs with hydraulic shock absorbers. Wheel spacing is good, especially when viewed from the side. The wheel arches are high, increasing steering flexibility while collecting and deflecting mud and dirt from the terrain.

The lower part of the fuselage is plate-like on the side and rear walls, but slopes upwards in the front. The lower front hull slopes down to an almost flat glacis plate. Glacis panels conform to the hull layout and allow the front panel to be used to view the windows provided for the front seat occupants. The sides of the body are tilted inward and upward. The design is topped by a round, flat, flat-topped, fully enclosed turret structure that itself maintains a relatively unrestricted 360-degree rotation (this is just a communications antenna on the front right side of the design, near the commander's hatch).

The searchlights are fixed at the foremost corners of the upper hull's front wings, partially protected by armored guardrails. The driver uses the exterior mirrors to view the environment around him and beyond. The front armoured viewing windows can be raised and lowered at the operator's discretion.

When raised, a glass-covered viewing port (bulletproof) improves forward visibility. Crew vision barriers are installed on the upper access hatches as well as on the sides of the hull superstructure, while the commander and driver can also use the periscope when the vehicle is fully "buckled up". In contrast to the BRDM-1, the engine is mounted in the rear of the fuselage. The BRDM-2 design has an integrated winch system built into the forward fuselage, as well as a central tire pressure system.

The tire pressure system allows the rider to instantly adjust one or all wheels depending on the terrain ahead.

The more wheels the better

Unique to the BRDM-2 design is the use of a pair of smaller running wheels, centered on the sides of the fuselage. These systems are raised or lowered "on the fly" by the rider to help improve off-road performance by increasing the surface area of ??the terrain.

The upgraded BRDM-2 removes these belly wheels to provide additional interior space for the crew.

Armor Protection

BRDM-2 armor protection ranges from 14mm to 3mm. The front of the revolver is 10mm thick. All other turret sides are 7mm thick. The top front of the hull is thicker and the bottom and rear are lighter. The armor thickness of the fuselage nose alone is 14 mm. The back dimension is 7mm. The armor consists of welded steel structures.

BRDM-2 Crew

Crew accommodation consists of four persons including driver, commander, co-pilot and gunner. The driver and commander sit side by side and have access to two roof-mounted entry and exit hatches.

Interestingly, this is the only entry and exit point for the occupants of the vehicle, as the turret does not have its own hatch, nor does the side of the hull. The gunner sits in the powered turret in action, but occupies a seat inside the hull in standard travel.

Aircrews have access to land navigation systems and decontamination kits (the latter used to counter the effects of a nuclear battlefield).

Armed

The basic armament of the BRDM-2 reconnaissance vehicle is a 14.5mm KPVT heavy machine gun, paired with a 7.62mm PKT coaxial general purpose machine gun. They all attach to the included Power Revolver and work at the same launch angle, limited to -5 to +30 degrees in elevation.

In fact, the BRDM-2 uses the same turret system as the BTR-60PB, BTR-70 and OT-64 Model 2A armored personnel carriers. Provides 500 rounds of ammunition for the 14.5mm system while carrying 2000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.

Other variants of the BRDM-2 carry anti-tank or anti-aircraft missile system launchers instead of machine gun weapons.

Engine and performance tags

Power comes from a rear-mounted GAZ-41 series liquid-cooled V-8 gasoline engine, delivering 140 hp at 3,400 rpm (larger and more powerful engine than the BRDM-1). Placing the engine in the stern makes it less vulnerable to enemy fire.

Additionally, the armor separates the engine compartment from the crew to improve survivability. Top road speed is listed as 62 mph, while operating range is listed as about 466 miles. When wading, the BRDM-2 can maintain a top speed of approximately 6.2 miles per hour. The vehicle is 5.75m long, 2.75m wide and 2.31m high.

The BRDM-2 has a working weight of 7000kg and a ground clearance of 430mm. She has full 4x4 wheel support. The upgraded BRDM-2 has an upgraded engine.

Treading water

An amphibious design, the BRDM-2 is propelled in water using a single four-blade water jet. The jets are protected by armor as the vehicle crosses land, but must be removed before entering any body of water.

While the BRDM-2 is not very fast in water, it is serviceable and allows for an integral dynamic steering platform.

Notable variants

While the BRDM-2 goes far beyond its basic reconnaissance role and takes on countless battlefield forms, a few notable variants are worth mentioning. BRDM-2-RKhb is a radiochemical reconnaissance variant identified by carrying two rectangular racks along its structure.

The BRDM-2U is a command vehicle equipped with dedicated communications equipment. Anti-tank forms include the launcher-mounted BRDM-2 chassis for the Sagger, Spandrel and Swatter anti-tank missile systems. The BRDM-2 has also been modified to launch the SA-9 "Gaskin" air defense missile system.

Disadvantages of BRDM-2

Like many Cold War equipment deployed by the Soviet Union, systems such as the BRDM-2 lacked many of the "improvements" common to their Western counterparts. Little attention was paid to the general comfort of the crew, and the GAZ engine was considered a thirsty beast, limiting its range.

Crews are barely protected by many of the modern battlefield weapons that will be used against their armor, although this helps keep them somewhat light and maneuverable. Of particular note is the use of a dual-aisle hatch. Mounted on the front of the vehicle, they forced the crew to abandon their mounts, most likely in enemy fire.

Most modern systems have some form of emergency exit, usually attached to the rear of the fuselage.

Combat Travel

BRDM-2 has evolved into a field-proven system and has done so in a variety of climates and environments and under the guidance of a variety of users. Soviet troops used the system in the war in Afghanistan, and some systems inevitably became part of the Afghan National Army as captured booty. Arab operators also used the BRDM-2 against Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, the War of Attrition (1968-1970), and the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Israel seized some of these vehicles just to install TOW anti-tank missile launchers on the hull superstructure and use them against previous owners.

Some of the well-preserved models are made into "victory works" of the museum. During the 1983 Operation Urgent Fury invasion of Grenada, U.S. forces engaged and captured several BRDM-2s.

The Iraqi military used reconnaissance vehicles in the 1991 Gulf War with limited success, and later with less success when the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003. The guy also served in the Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995) and the Kosovo War (1998-1999), proving she's a viable player in a European setting.

Concluding remarks

The BRDM-2 has been replaced (in theory at least) by the BRDM-3 series of 8x8 wheeled reconnaissance vehicles. The BRDM-3 is based on the BTR-80 8x8 wheeled armoured personnel carrier. The BTR-80 itself has replaced the BTR-60 and BTR-70 wheeled vehicles since its inception.