Russian Army to Accept Armored Vehicles Rejected in 2010

MOSCOW, September 24 (RIA Novosti) – An order for the delivery of BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles that the Russian Defense Ministry suspended three years ago over inferior quality will be completed, a defense industry official said Tuesday.

The vehicles, manufactured in 2010 at the Kurganmashzavod plant, “were criticized by the Defense Ministry” when they were first made, Oleg Bochkarev, deputy head of the governmental Military Industrial Commission, said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

The vehicle has since been modernized and given “a large number of various modifications,” he said, adding that the product is in high demand on foreign markets.

“This equipment will function for a long time yet,” Bochkarev said.

First Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Sukhorukov said last year that Kurganmashzavod had been fined 3 billion rubles ($90 million) over its failure to deliver BMP-3s on time and meet the required quality standards.