All-new Russian BMP B-19 Armored Vehicle with 57mm Cannon to Enter Service Soon

An-all new Russian armored vehicle BMP B-19 armed with a 57mm cannon besides the Kornet anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) system will soon complete test and enter service with the Russian Army likely in 2022.

“The new BMP B-19 in terms of firepower significantly surpasses the existing BMP-2 and BMP-3 armored vehicles. Currently, various types of tests of the BMP B-19 with the Epoch combat module are underway, the completion of which and acceptance for armament of BMP B-19 is planned in the near future,” Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces Oleg Salyukov said in an interview Sunday with the MOD’s newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda.

“The use of a 57-mm automatic cannon allows the vehicle to more effectively fight lightly armored vehicles and personnel in body armor, including sheltered in the folds of the terrain. The use of the modern Kornet guided weapon system ensures guaranteed destruction of tanks and other highly protected objects, as well as helicopters at long ranges,” Salyukov said.

“However, the use of such a powerful weapon as the Kornet ATGM for medium-protected targets is not always justified, including due to the limited ammunition load. Therefore, a completely new guided weapon system, called ‘Bulat,’ has been developed for the B-19 BMP with the Epoch combat module,” he said.

The new guided weapon system and combat module have been tested during the Russian-Belarusian strategic exercises Zapad-2021 in September this year.  Three BMP B-19 vehicles with the Epoch combat module with a new 57-mm automatic cannon and two Kornet guided weapon systems was used for the first time.

As part of the combat module “Epoch” – a 57- mm gun cannon is paired with a 7.62-mm machine gun. The module is remotely controlled from the terminals of the commander and gunner and does not take up space inside the combat vehicle. The module is equipped with modern missile weapons – the Kornet and Bulat complexes.