MOSCOW, May 24. /TASS/. Over 120,000 military specialists have undergone training in the Russian Armed Forces since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, with about 5,000 personnel trained to employ hi-tech weapons, Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu said on Wednesday.
"Over 120,000 personnel have undergone training since the beginning of the special military operation. More than 21,000 specialists have been trained directly for battlegroups and newly-created units and military formations, including 5,000 personnel for employing such hi-tech weapons as T-90M Proryv tanks, BMP-2M infantry fighting vehicles with the Berezhok combat module, BMP-3 IFVs and various drone systems," the defense chief said at the ministry’s board meeting.
The T-90M Proryv main battle tank is the most advanced armored vehicle in the family of T-90 tanks and most of all fit for operations on a present-day battlefield thanks to its all-round protection, a modern round-the-clock highly automated fire control system and enhanced survivability technology.
The Proryv is outfitted with a 125mm tank cannon that can fire new powerful munitions and also missiles capable of eliminating enemy tanks at a range of up to 5 km. The new multichannel sight enables the tank to employ its armaments at any time of the day or night. In addition, the option of exchanging data with other combat vehicles in real time has been one of the upgraded tank’s major advantages.
The BMP-2M is a modification of the BMP-2 tracked infantry vehicle armed with a 30mm 2A42 automatic gun and a 7.62mm PKT machine gun. The upgraded vehicle is capable of delivering fire afloat and on the move in any time of the day or night. As its additional armament, the infantry fighting vehicle features an automatic grenade launcher and a Kornet anti-tank missile system. It has been reported that the upgrade has boosted the infantry fighting vehicle’s combat capability about fourfold.
The BMP-3 infantry combat vehicle was created by the Special Engineering Design Bureau in the second half of the 1980s. The vehicle can carry a crew of three and seven assault personnel.
The amphibious vehicle features a 100mm gun capable of firing missiles and three 7.62mm (one coaxial and two bow) machineguns. The BMP-3 weighs 18.7 metric tons and can accelerate to 70 km/h on the road. The combat vehicle has been operational in the Russian Army since 1987.