When the Soviet war in Afghanistan broke out the Soviet forces operated BMP-1 IFVs and BMD-1 airborne IFVs. They were both armed with 73 mm 2A28 "Grom" low pressure smoothbore short-recoil semi-automatic gun, 9S428 ATGM launcher capable of firing 9M14 "Malyutka" (NATO: AT-3A Sagger A), 9M14M "Malyutka-M" (NATO: AT-3B Sagger B) and 9M14P "Malyutka-P" (NATO: AT-3C Sagger C) ATGMs and 7.62 mm PKT coaxial tank machine gun. Although their armament made for strong anti-tank firepower, it didn't provide sufficient firepower against enemy unarmored vehicles, infantry, firing points and light fortified positions, especially during mountain battles because of low elevation angle of the main gun.
| BMD-2 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Airborne infantry fighting vehicle |
| Place of origin |  Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1985 - present |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1981 - 1985 |
| Manufacturer | Volgograd Tractor Plant |
| Produced | 1985 - ? (out of production) |
| Specifications (BMD-2) | |
| Weight | 11.5 tonnes |
| Length | 7.85 m 6.74 m (without the gun) |
| Width | 2.94 m |
| Height | 2.45 m |
| Crew | 4 (commander, driver, gunner and bow machine gunner) (+ 4 troopers) |
| | |
| Armor | Welded aluminium alloy 7 mm turret 15 mm at 78° upper hull front 15 mm at 50° lower hull front 10 mm rest of the hull |
| Main armament | 30 mm 2A42 multi-purpose autocannon (300 rounds (180 AP and 120 HE)) 9P135M-1 ATGM launcher |
| Secondary armament | 7.62 mm PKT coaxial tank machine gun 7.62 mm PKT bow tank machine gun 2,940 7.62 mm machine gun rounds |
| Engine | 5D-20 6-cylinder 4-stroke V-shaped liquid cooled 15.9 liter diesel 241 hp (180 kW) at 2,600 rpm |
| Power/weight | 21 hp/tonne (15.7 kW/tonne) |
| Suspension | torsion-bar |
| Ground clearance | Adjustable 100 mm to 450 mm |
| Fuel capacity | 300 l |
| Operational range | 450 km (road) |
| Speed | 80 km/h (road) 40 km/h (cross country) 10 km/h (swimming) |
In 1981 the units fighting in Afghanistan started receiving new BMP-2 IFVs. It's 30 mm 2A42 multi-purpose autocannon with two-belt loading system and very high elevation angle solved some of the serious drawbacks of the 73 mm 2A28 "Grom" gun. Also the 9S428 ATGM launcher was replaced by pintle-mounted 9P135M-1 ATGM launcher with semi-automatic control capable of firing SACLOS guided 9M113 "Konkurs" (AT-5 Spandrel), 9M113M "Konkurs-M" (AT-5B Spandrel B), 9M111 "Fagot" (AT-4 Spigot) and 9M111-2 "Fagot" (AT-4B Spigot B) ATGMs which proved to be much more effective and reliable than the MCLOS guided 9M14 "Malyutka" (AT-3 Sagger), 9M14M "Malyutka-M" (AT-3B Sagger B) and 9M14P "Malyutka-P" (AT-3C Sagger C) ATGMs. Because of that the high command of Soviet airborne forces decided to arm their units with similar vehicles.
In the beginning it became obvious that the hull of BMD-1 was too small for the BMP-2 turret. Therefore it was decided to design two vehicles. The first one was supposed to satisfy the immediate need of a new airborne IFV by modifying the BMD-1/BMP-1 turret, arming it with the same armament as the one on the BMP-2 and then fitting it onto the BMD-1 hull. The second vehicle was supposed to be much bigger to allow fitting of the BMP-2 turret and later became the BMD-3.
The modernized variant of BMD-1 was developed in 1983 and incorporated the new B-30 turret armed with 30 mm 2A42 multi-purpose autocannon, 7.62 mm PKT coaxial tank machine gun and pintle-mounted 9P135M-1 ATGM launcher. After it passed the trials it entered production in 1985.
