Russia Is Taking Cannons from BMP-1s to Make Infantry Support Guns

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Russians made a towed gun from the remains of BMP-1

Russian craftsmen have started to make towed guns from the remains of BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles.

The Telegram group “Russia no context” showed a test of a similar trailer gun.

The invaders took a 73-mm 2A28 Grom smoothbore gun from a BMP-1 and mounted it on a wheeled base.

The Russians probably took the wheeled base from a 2B9 Vasylok automatic mortar. The guns could have been taken from infantry fighting vehicles destroyed in Ukraine.

The 73-mm gun includes two types of ammunition: armor-piercing PG-15V and high-explosive OG-15V.

The range of the gun’s direct shot is 750 meters, and the maximum range in a parabolic arc is 1300 meters.

“A maximum range of 4 kilometers from closed positions is possible if the crew is well trained and adjustments are made from a drone,” the report said.

The Russian military will likely use the wheeled version of the 2A28 Grom gun to support infantry and in defensive operations.

However, high-explosive fragmentation OG-15Vs are in short supply, and the use of armor-piercing PG-15Vs will not cause significant damage to Ukrainian positions.

Ammunition from a damaged BMP-1. 2014, Ukraine. Photo from open source

The barrel of the 2A28 weapon is a monoblock. The barrel is screwed into the breech, which has a wedge bolt.

To keep the bolt in the open position and remove firing cases, ejectors are installed in the breech, the operation of which is clearly visible in the published video.

2A28 73mm gun of BMP-1. Photo credits: Parola Tank Museum

In 2021, the Ukrainian manufacturer of special automotive equipment, Research and Production Association Practika, demonstrated the BMP-1M armored vehicle with the Spys-Syntez remote weapon station.