41st Brigade receives BMP-1LB infantry fighting vehicles

The 41st Mechanized Brigade received Ukrainian-made BMP-1LB infantry fighting vehicles.

The training of the crews was published on the 41st Mechanized Brigade’s website.

The infantry units were equipped with vehicles developed on the basis of the Soviet MT-LBU tracked transporter and given additional armor and weapons. This vehicle takes the niche of an infantry fighting vehicle.

In the video released, one of the crews is practicing maneuvers and fire at one of the training grounds, probably mastering the new equipment.

The 41st Mechanized Brigade, along with the 42nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, are the only known units in the Defense Forces to have received this equipment. Both brigades were formed in early 2023.

BMP-1LB

These vehicles were first spotted in the Ukrainian military last summer. Developed on the basis of a transporter, they are designed to compensate for losses among classic BMPs, so they receive enhanced protection and heavy weapons.

The combat vehicle crew consists of three people: a mechanic-driver, a gunner-operator, and a commander. The landing compartment can accommodate 7-8 people.

The original MT-LBU’s armor is only 7mm thick in the sides and stern and up to 14 mm thick in the front. This is only enough to protect against small fragments and small arms fire, but rifles and machine guns can penetrate the hull.

To compensate for this shortcoming, the combat vehicle was equipped with additional armor plates that form spaced armor.

The vehicle is also equipped with a remote combat module with a KPVT 14.5mm heavy machine gun. It has an optical observation station with a day and night thermal imaging channel. It also has a protective armor shield against bullets and light fragments.

The module is controlled from the gunner operator’s position, located deep in the landing compartment. The controls are a monitor and a joystick.

Read more on this vehicle, the reasons for its introduction, and its shortcomings in the exclusive article “BMP-1LB: Ukrainian ersatz for AFU”.