Belarus PT-76M Modernization Upgrade

Christopher Wang

ACCESS: Confidential
Joined
3 June 2021
Messages
128
Reaction score
232
According to both an August 5, 2015 article on Military Review ( https://en.topwar.ru/80147-belorusskaya-modernizaciya-sovetskogo-plavayuschego-tanka.html ) and a January 10, 2017 post on Pakistan Defence ( https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/belarus-unveils-pt-76m-upgrade.471732/ ), a Belarusian Minsk-based company called Minotor-Service developed a firepower and mobility modernization package for the PT-76 amphibious light tank.
PT-76 with BMP-2 Turret (1).jpg
PT-76 with BMP-2 Turret (2).jpg

The original PT-76 was fitted with a two-man turret armed with the 76.2-mm D-56T rifled tank gun and a 7.62-mm SGMT or PKT coaxial machine gun. The PT-76M upgrade package replaced the original turret with the two-man turret of the BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle. The new turret is armed with the 30-mm Shipunov 2A42 autocannon, a 7.62-mm PKT coaxial machine gun, and a launcher for the 9M113 Konkurs / AT-5 Spandrel ATGM.

In addition to the firepower upgrade, the PT-76M modernization package also replaced the original 240-hp Model V-6B water-cooled diesel engine with a new 300-hp UTD-20S1 diesel engine.

Presumably, the PT-76M could have also been upgraded with the B05Ya01 Berezhok turret (or "combat module" in Russia) mounted on the modernized BMP-2M by KBP Instrument Design Bureau based in Tula, Russia. The two-man Berezhok turret is equipped with the 30-mm Shipunov 2A42 autocannon, a 7.62-mm PKMT coaxial machine gun, a 30-mm AGS-30 automatic grenade launcher, two twin launchers for the 9M133M Kornet-M ATGMs, and new day/night sights.
BMP-2M with Berezhok Turret.jpg
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom