Source: saintjavelin on Instagam
What is likely the most bizarre ersatz anti-drone defense yet created is shown here, adorning a Russian BMP-2 IFV. The photograph started making the rounds of social media in the first week of May 2025. The defense consists of multiple lengths of heavy cables which have been unwound and the stranded steel wires that make up the cable splayed out into a cone-shaped arrangement. That the cable is heavy is because the steel wires are not bending and remain in the shape they were put into.
It can be assumed that the intent of using such an odd method is to make it very difficult for a FPV drone operator to successfully fly his or her drone into the BMP-2 without the drone's propellers striking one or more of the wires and either becoming fouled in the wires or the propeller blades being damaged or broken. It is also possible that the wires may catch on a piece of the drone body such as on the zip-ties that are usually used to secure RPG warheads to the drone (as an example). One can imagine entering or exiting the BMP-2 is a tricky affair and that the wiring could be bent back if the vehicle runs through obstacles or closer confines such as urban terrain or wooded areas. In addition to the multiple wire bristle bunches, the BMP-2 also has the far more common anti-drone cage atop the turret. It is quite high and utilizes weighted chains on the sides rather than metal screens or chain link fencing.
As for the exact make of the BMP-2, it looks to be a BMP-2M “Berezhok”. The name refers to the B05YA01 Berezhok (meaning “Shore”) combat module that replaces the standard BMP-2 turret. The new turret retains the 2A42 30mm autocannon and co-axial PKT 7.62mm machine-gun of the original BMP-2 but adds a AG-30M (or AGS-17) 30mm automatic grenade launcher (with 300 rounds) and two launch rails on each side of the turret for the 9M133M Kornet-M (NATO reporting name AT-14 Spriggan) anti-tank guided missile (ATGM). The BMP-2M “Berezhok” does not carry any reloads for the missiles and so only the four fitted to their launch rails are available. The standard 9M133 missile, which uses SACLOS (Semi-Automatic Command to Line Of Sight) laser beam riding guidance, can attain a maximum range of 3.4 miles can penetrate over 1,000mm of rolled homogeneous armor after explosive reactive armor (ERA) due to its tandem charge HEAT (High-Explosive Anti-Tank) warhead.
Other upgrades to the BMP-2M “Berezhok” include six 81mm Type 902V Tucha smoke grenade launchers, a R-168 aqueduct intercom system for the crew, PL-1 laser illuminator, BPK-3-42 gunner's sight, 1PZ-13 commander's sight, laser range finder, and a ballistic computer tied into a “Redut” fire control system (FCS). The FCS can maintain tracking on multiple targets and can continually update firing solutions for all of the turret's weapons. Some vehicles may be equipped with the more powerful UTD-23 engine but this is more to compensate for the added 2 tons of weight due to the turret and armor (see below) as performance is the same as the regular BMP-2.
For armor, the BMP-2M “Berezhok” has the same level of protection as the standard BMP-2 hull but some vehicles, like this one, utilize the 675-sb3KDZ add-on armor kit. This adds slat armor panels to the vehicle sides, front (missing here), turret circumference, and rear. In addition, the hull sides and the lower glacis of the front hull are fitted with polymer NERA (Non-Explosive Reactive Armor) blocks. These NERA blocks (in addition to the steel mounting plates the blocks are connected to) allow the BMP-2M “Berezhok” to withstand impacts from 12.7mm heavy machine-gun ammunition and some smaller anti-tank grenades.
For more information on the base BMP-2, visit:
https://photosofmilitaryhistory.blogspot.com/2025/01/russo-ukrainian-war-bmp-2-141st.html
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