In 1982 Romania purchased a license to produce 178 BMP-1 IFVs from USSR. At the same time it received permission to modify the construction in order to adapt it to its industry.
The decision of improving the old Soviet IFVs came in 1995. As a result of Romanian-Israeli cooperation project the new modernized MLI-84M variant was created. Since then, the Romanian Ministry of Defense spent over US$ 155 million to upgrade 99 vehicles.
| MLI-84 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Infantry fighting vehicle |
| Place of origin |  Romania |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1985 - present |
| Used by |  Socialist Republic of Romania |
| Wars | none |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1982 - 1985 |
| Produced | 1985 - 1991 (MLI-84) 1995 - present (MLI-84M) |
| Number built | 178 |
| Specifications (MLI-84M) | |
| Weight | 17.6 tonnes |
| Length | 7.335 m |
| Width | 3.3 m |
| Height | 2.942 m |
| Crew | 3 (commander, driver and gunner) + 8 troopers |
| | |
| Armor | Protects against 14.5 mm caliber heavy machine gun fire |
| Main armament | MLI-84: 73 mm 2A28 Grom cannon MLI-84M: 25 mm Oerlikon KBA autocannon |
| Secondary armament | MLI-84: 9S415 ATGM launcher 1 × 12.7x108mm DShK 1938/46 Heavy machine gun MLI-84M: 9M14-2T "Maljutka-2T" or Spike ATGM |
| Engine | Caterpillar C9 400 hp at 2.200 rpm |
| Power/weight | 23.4 hp/tonne (16.8 kW/tonne) |
| Suspension | individual torsion bar with hydraulic shock absorbers on the 1st and 6th road wheels |
| Ground clearance | 400 mm |
| Fuel capacity | 620 l |
| Operational range | 550 - 600 km |
| Speed | 65 km/h |
The most important improvement in the MLI-84 was the replacement of the UTD-20 (a 6-cylinder 4-stroke V-shaped airless-injection water cooled multifuel 15.8 litre diesel engine) with the 8V-1240-DT-S 8-cylinder 4-stroke V-shaped liquid cooled diesel engine developed in Romania. The new engine is more powerful as it develops 355 hp (265 kW) but it is heavier and bigger and because of that the engine compartment had to be rebuilt in order to fit the new engine. The fuel capacity was increased to 600 liters. Because of these modifications the length of the hull of the vehicle was increased by 60 cm (7.335 m) which in turn resulted in wider gaps between the roadwheels. The vehicle is also wider (3.15 m) and higher (2.11 m). The ground clearance has increased from 370 mm to 400 mm. The new engine has increased vehicle's maximal road speed to 70 km/h.
The armament wasn't modified but a 12.7 mm DShK 1938/46 anti-aircraft heavy machine gun was placed on a rotatable mount fitted on the left rear troop compartment roof hatch. It is operated by the trooper sitting next to the left rear door of the troop compartment which makes operating it while the infantry is dismounting impossible.
Because of the mentioned modifications and additions, the weight of the vehicle increased to 16.6 tonnes and although the vehicle can still travel across water with little preparation, the amphibious ability was weakened.
