MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The latest tendency in NATO countries and in East Asia is to design front-wheel drive tracked combat vehicles with the crew space located in the armored section of the body, the representative of the heavy equipment factory said, speaking at a roundtable discussion at the ongoing Army-2016 international military and technical forum near Moscow.
"Due to this, the design of a potential BMD [Combat Vehicle of the Airborne Troops] vehicle with a 100 plus 30 fighting compartment [a 30-milimeter cannon and a 100-milimeter gun/launcher] is proposed, which is currently being developed for the BMP-3 Dragoon [infantry fighting vehicle]," the representative said.
Russia's current newest infantry fighting vehicle is the BMD-4, which was designed in the 1990s and entered into service in 2004. Designed to transport Russian Airborne Forces, the vehicle has improved in firepower compared to its BMD-3 predecessor, but the crew positioning and ergonomics were left largely unchanged.
