Russia's new anti-drone upgrade: BMD‑4M's big leap forward
The Rostec Corporation has announced efforts to adapt BMD-4 vehicles for use as anti-drone systems. Despite the BMD-4 being originally designed for entirely different tasks, the Russians plan to utilize its significant armament to combat drones effectively.
The BMD-4 is a light infantry fighting vehicle intended for airborne troops. Like the rest of the BMD family, it is lightly armoured, contributing to its low weight of approximately 14,000 kilograms.
This lightness allows the equipment to be transported by air and also airdropped with parachutes, even with the crew aboard. Once it lands successfully, it can quickly engage in combat operations.
The strength of the BMD-4 lies in its powerful arsenal—comparable to the BMP-3—making it potentially the most heavily armed infantry fighting vehicle globally. Its weaponry includes a 30-mm 2A72 automatic cannon, a 100-mm 2A70 gun that also acts as a launcher for 9M117 Bastion/Arkan anti-tank missiles, and two machine guns.
BMD-4M as a drone hunter
The BMD-4 merges potent weaponry with weak crew protection—the BMD acronym is jokingly referred to in Russia as "brotherly grave of the paratroopers." Due to challenges in deploying these vehicles for their intended purpose, Rostec has proposed using the currently deployed BMD-4M version as a foundation for an anti-drone system.
The vehicle will be modernized and adapted to use programmable ammunition, significantly boosting its effectiveness against small, agile targets like drones. Additionally, the updated BMD-4 will feature an anti-drone jammer.
However, in presenting its proposal, Rostec did not address the known limitations of the BMD-4. One of these issues is the low elevation angle of the armament, which, at 60 degrees, is insufficient for anti-aircraft purposes.
The Russian corporation also failed to mention any sensor replacements or upgrades to the fire control system. Although the BMD-4 is equipped with the modern Bachcha-U turret system, featuring an advanced fire control system, its current version can only target relatively slow aerial threats, like helicopters, and not dynamically manoeuvring drones.
