Indonesia outlines BMP-3F upgrade intent
The BMP-3F has a longer snorkel at the rear of the vehicle to keep the vehicle afloat in rough seas for longer. (Janes/Patrick Allen)
Indonesia has revealed an intent to upgrade its fleet of Russian BMP-3F amphibious infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs).
The Indonesian Navy said in a social media post on 6 June that it has agreed to upgrade the armour fitted to its in-service BMP-3F IFVs. The decision followed an inspection of the vehicles.
“The additional armour kit [will] consist of a combination of slat armour and armour plate screens on the front and side projections of the hull and turrets of the vehicle,” the Indonesian Navy said.
According to Janes World Armies, the Indonesian Marine Corps operates 54 BMP-3F IFVs, which were procured from Russia in two batches in 2008 and 2012. The Indonesian Ministry of Defense (MoD) signed a contract with Russian export agency Rosoboronexport to procure a third batch in 2019. However, the number and delivery status of the third batch are unknown.
The BMP-3F IFV is an amphibious variant of the BMP-3 family of tracked IFVs, manufactured by Russian company Kurganmashzavod.
According to Janes Land Warfare Platforms: Armoured Fighting Vehicles – Tracked, the hull of the baseline BMP-3 is built from aluminium, which is then covered with bolt-on hardened steel armour. Additional armour kits can be added to the system for protection.
The BMP-3 IFV is armed with a 2K23 fighting module, which is a circular manned turret equipped with an automatically loaded 100 mm gun, a 30 mm co-axial cannon, and a 7.62 mm machine gun (MG). The vehicle weighs 12 tonnes and can carry a payload of 6.6 tonnes. It can operate up to Sea State 3.
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