Russia Admits the BMD-4M Armored Vehicle is a Deathtrap

By Vitaly V. Kuzmin — CC BY-SA 4.0

Russia just admitted something we already knew: their shiny airborne infantry vehicle, the BMD-4M, has almost no armor.

Yep, the pride of the Russian Airborne Forces, the “elite” VDV, turns out to be one of the least protected fighting vehicles on the battlefield today.

Moscow is scrambling to bolt on mesh screens and improvised armor kits, but let’s be honest, this thing is basically a rolling crematorium waiting for Ukraine’s drones to punch a ticket.

For the first time, Russian state media and defense outlets are admitting their beloved airborne fighting vehicle isn’t cutting it. According to a Russian study analyzed by BTVT.INFO on Telegram, wrecked BMD-4Ms collected from Crimea show the obvious: these things fold under pretty much any modern threat.

Their so-called “fix” is a protection package consisting of steel plates and mesh cages bolted to the sides, front, and rear. The turret got a similar treatment, but none of this addresses the number-one killer on the battlefield right now: top-attack drones.

A $500 Mavic Air Pro can still drop an explosive right through the roof and turn a BMD-4M into a fireworks show.

And yet, the Russian engineers who came up with this band-aid solution are being nominated for awards…