SYR - BRDM pro jeruzalemskou brigádu (vozidlo palebné podpory)

Dear all,
During the fighting in Syria, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) was not satisfied with the performance of the imported KOT BRDM-2 reconnaissance vehicles, so it removed them from its arsenal and handed them over to the Syrian police and military schools for training. During the fighting with the interventionists and internal enemies, some of these vehicles were reactivated. Several weapon improvisations and rebuilds have been made by pro-government militias.
Here I take the liberty of presenting an account of an interesting rebuild of the Russian KOT BRDM-2 in the unit workshops of the Syrian-Palestinian pro-government militia Liwa al-Quds. The first version of such converted fire support and reconnaissance vehicles was combat deployed near Aleppo in October 2016. The vehicles were equipped with NSVT machine guns and AGS grenade launchers.
Models armed with small-calibre PLKs have arrived for this year's fighting for Deir ez-Zor, and the last known variant, equipped with an atypical turret with machine-gun armament, has begun to roam the Syrian deserts.


Basic technical data for the BRDM version with PLK 2x23 mm
- designation: official designation unknown
- designation: long-range reconnaissance and fire support vehicle
- manufacturer: departmental workshops Liwa al-Quds, about Aleppo, Syria
- number of units produced not identified


- crew: estimated 3 persons (commander, gunner, driver)


- weight: Greater than 7000 kg
- hull length: 5750 mm without pre-armour
- hull width: 2300 mm without pre-armour
- height: not found
- ground clearance: ~430 mm


Propulsion system
- original Soviet gasoline engine replaced by an unknown diesel of higher power
- original Soviet transmission replaced by an unknown type
- landing gear, arrangement: 4x4
- extendable middle wheels were removed when the interior of the hull was rebuilt


Performance
- details not ascertained, but the vehicle is claimed to have better handling capabilities than the Russian KOT BRDM-2
- due to side hatches, additional armour and heavier armament, I assume loss of buoyancy
- wading: estimated at 0.75 m
- overrun: 1.25 m
- climbability: 0.4 m
- climb: ~27° (60%)
- side roll: ~13° (30%)
- max. 100 km/h
- range: not detected


Ballistic protection
- original hull armour of: 3 to 10 mm
- additional forward-mounted cumulative projectile protection


Armament
- main gun mounted on a pivot with actuators allowing the gun to be operated from inside the vehicle
- anti-aircraft twin cannon, type: infreactor.org
http://vestnik-rm.ru/news-4-21736.htm
http://vestnik-rm.ru/news-4-21774.htm
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