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Russian Defense Ministry to receive 250 BMD-4M, Rakushka vehicles

The batch will be delivered over the next three years
BMD-4M armoured assault vehicles  Sergey Fadeichev/TASS
BMD-4M armoured assault vehicles
© Sergey Fadeichev/TASS

MOSCOW, May 13. /TASS/. The Russian Defense Ministry is to receive more than 250 airborne troops’ combat vehicles BMD-4M and armored personnel carriers BTR-MDM Rakushka over three years to come under a contract with the Tractor Plants concern, its first vice-president and co-owner, Albert Bakov has told TASS.

"We have a three-year contract with the Defense Ministry for providing BMD-4M and BTR-MDM. More than 250 vehicles are to be delivered to the airborne troops," Bakov said.

According to earlier reports, the first batch of the new vehicles was provided in early March. Then it was expected that Russia’s paratroop units would receive a total of 62 BMD-4M and 22 BTR Rakushka by the end of the year.

The tracked BMD-4M vehicle Sadovnitsa is an upgraded version of BMD-4, boasting a new hull, power plant, running gear and some other parts and components. It is armed with the combat module Bakhcha-U, developed by a Tula-based design bureau. It consists of two 100 mm and 30 mm guns and a 7.62 mm machinegun.

The parachutable armored personnel carrier BTR-MDM Rakushka is also based on the BMD-4 chassis. It is expected to substitute for BTR-D, which entered duty back in the 1970. Machineguns are Rakushka’s main armaments.