On 10OCT2023, the European Union (EU) sent Elon Musk an ultimatum:
Musk responded by essentially demanding the EU show him proof of ‘misinformation’. They responded with typical cancel-culture hyperbole, in other words they have no proof.
The ancient empire of Babylon covered and area from present day Israel in the West, to Iran in the East. “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”-from Revelation 18 (supposedly King James Bible)
“Our missiles, drones, and special forces are ready to … strike the American enemy in its bases and disrupt its interests if it intervenes in this battle!”-Abu Hussein Al-Hamidawi, Kata’ib Hezbollah (an Iraqi Shia militia), 10OCT2023
NATO-Norway’s Telemark Battalion conduct operations from Al Asad Air Base, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Private First Class Clark, 13SEP2023.
On 09OCT2023, another Iraqi Shia militia, Harakat Hezbollah Nujaba, made the same threat. Yet another Iraqi Shia group, the Badr Organization, said “If they (the Americans) intervene, we would intervene … we will consider all American targets legitimate.”
U.S. Army Combat Medics conduct a Mass-Casualty Drill at an non-disclosed location in Iraq, on 21SEP2023. U.S. Army photo by Specialist Jenise Burnette.
But wait, it is not just Iraqi Shia militias, on 07OCT2023 Basim al-Awadi, spokesperson of the Iraqi government, said “Today’s Palestinian actions respond to longstanding oppression by the Zionist occupation, which ignores international resolutions. We urge global intervention to restore Palestinian rights, cautioning against escalation that could destabilize the region, and call for an urgent Arab League meeting on the Palestinian situation.”
Recently, Iraq, Kuwait and the U.S. conducted Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) training. U.S. Navy photo, 02OCT2023.
An Iraqi ‘small’ boat approaches the USCGC Robert Goldman (WPC 1142), 02OCT2023. U.S. Navy photo.
The ancient empire of Babylon covered and area from present day Israel in the West, to Iran in the East. “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”-from Revelation 18 (supposedly King James Bible)
U.S. Air Force video report, from 13OCT2010, explaining wargame Thracian Star:
MiG-29 taxis past a Minnesota Air National Guard 148th Fighter Wing F-16, Graf Ignatievo Air Base, 26MAY2014.
A Bulgarian MiG-29UB pilot helps a Louisiana Air National Guard F-15 Eagle pilot attach his oxygen mask before a familiarization flight in a MiG-29UB during a training mission at Graf Ignatievo Air Base, 20APR2015. Louisiana Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Toby M. Valadie.
In May 2015, Louisiana Air National Guard F-15C Eagles trained alongside Bulgarian MiG-29s. Video by Master Sergeant Toby M. Valadie, edited by me to focus on the MiG-29:
New Jersey Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Andrew J. Moseley, 13JUL2015.
MiG-29UB, Graf Ignatievo Air Base, 15JUL2015. New Jersey Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Andrew J. Moseley.
F-16s, MiG-29 and MiG-21. New Jersey Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Andrew J. Moseley, 20JUL2015.
Bulgaria began NATO ‘policing’ of the Black Sea in 2016. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Joe W. McFadden, 08SEP2016.
USAF video, by Staff Sergeant Ashley Corkins, MiG-29s during NATO’s first ever ‘joint air policing’ (along with California & Massachusetts Air National Guard F-15 Eagles) of the Black Sea, on 09SEP2016:
Bulgaria began NATO ‘policing’ of the Black Sea in 2016. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Joe W. McFadden, 09SEP2016.
NATO video released 13OCT2020, showing ‘air policing’ operations over supposed NATO Black Sea territory. Video was edited by me to highlight the MiG-29:
MiG-29UB. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman First Class Brooke Moeder, 13JUL2021.
MiG-29UB excerpt from U.S. Air Force promo video (by Airman First Class Brooke Moeder, 15JUL2021):
MiG-29UB. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman First Class Brooke Moeder, 20JUL2021.
USAF Airman First Class Brooke Moeder shows you MiG-29 action during wargame Thracian Star, July 2021:
Cold War: Approximately 1947 (due to U.S. President Harry Truman’s Truman Doctrine) to 1991 (Operation Desert Storm, collapse of Soviet Union).
During the Cold War it was known as Mikoyan & Gurevich (Микоян и Гуревич), hence MiG (МиГ). The MiG-29 began military service in 1983. NATO reporting name Fulcrum.
U.S. Department of Defense concept of what a MiG-29 looked like, image released to the public on 23MAY1984.
From 1983 to 1985 the MiG-29 was kept out of public sight, then the leadership of the Soviet Union changed, adopting a concept called Glasnost which resulted in public demonstrations of the MiG-29 all over the world.
Photo of MiG-29 number 01, published in Western NATO countries in January 1987.
Photo of MiG-29 number 02, published by the NATO-West in January 1987.
In 1989, the Soviet Union was trying so hard to be ‘open’ that they sent one of their new MiG-29s to an airshow in NATO-Canada.
U.S. Air Force personnel help Soviet personnel refuel a MiG-29 that stopped at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, enroute to an airshow in British Columbia, Canada. USAF photo by Sergeant Gregory A. Suhay, 01AUG1989.
The Soviet Union released this photo to the NATO-West in September 1989.
A Warsaw Pact East German (German Democratic Republic/Deutsche Demokratische Republik) Mig-29, on Preschen Airfield sometime in 1990. Photo by Rob Schleiffert. East Germany ceased to exist in October 1990.
U.S. Department of Defense photo showing the remains of an Iraqi MiG-29, after Operation Desert Storm in March 1991.
Post Cold War, Balkan Wars, War on Terror, Battle for Ukraine, 1992 to present. Since the end of the Cold War the company is known as Mikoyan and is now part of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), but the aircraft are still referred to as MiGs.
A former Warsaw Pact East German (German Democratic Republic/Deutsche Demokratische Republik) Mig-29UB, now wearing unified NATO-Germany markings, parked next to a USAF F-16B on Ramstein Air Base, Germany, 11AUG1993. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Gary Tomoyasu.
Former Warsaw Pact Romania MiG-29, 23MAR1996. Romania would officially join NATO in 2004. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Russ Pollanen.
NATO-Germany MiG-29 flies alongside a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet, somewhere over the Mediterranean Sea, in Summer 1996.
The USAF claims this F-15C shot down the first Serbian MiG-29, during Operation Allied Force. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Ken Bergmann, 24MAR1999.
Oregon Air National Guard F-15C Eagle taxis with a NATO-Poland MiG-29, on Minsk-Mazowiecki Air Base, during wargame Eagle Sentry, 29APR2001. Former Warsaw Pact Poland joined NATO in 1999. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Jerry Bynum.
A former Warsaw Pact Czechoslovakia MiG-29, now wearing independent Slovakia colors, 09JUN2001. Slovakia would join NATO in 2004. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Mitch Fuqua.
USAF officers get a tour of a NATO-Hungary MiG-29, 15MAY2002. Former Warsaw Pact Hungary joined NATO in 1999. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Colette M. Horton.
Final flight of NATO-Germany’s MiG-29s over the Gulf of Mexico, 14MAY2003. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Michael Ammons.
In the late 1980s, MiG developed a ‘K’ navalized version of the MiG-29 (first flight 23JUL1988), but there were no takers. In 2004, India decided they wanted the MiG-29K for their small aircraft carrier fleet. The training version MiG-29KUB first flew in 2007. The KUB version can also act as an electronic warfare aircraft.
Russian navalized MiG-29Ks.
Apparently, the fact that India liked the MiG-29K influenced the Russian Military Maritime Fleet to buy their own MiG-29Ks in 2009.
In 2011, California Air National Guard F-16s flew to Ukraine to take part in wargame Safe Skies. This video, by Senior Master Sergeant Christopher Drudge, shows a Ukrainian MiG-29UB taxiing past the California F-16s:
MiG-35 Fulcrum-F
In 2016, UAC-Mikoyan introduced a new ‘MiG-29’ called the MiG-35 (which looks a lot like the navalized MiG-29K). NATO calls it the Fulcrum-F.
This is from a NATO promotional video about Poland’s MiG-29 (edited by me), released in Spring 2018:
U.S. Department of Defense video claiming to show Russian MiG-29s operating over war-torn Libya, 05JUN2020:
NATO video, 21MAR2023, NATO-Poland’s MiG-29UB launching from Malbork Air Base in Poland, and flying over the Baltic Sea:
On 16SEP2023, for the first time Republic of Serbia MiG-29s took part in an airshow in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia. Serbian Air Force-Air Defense video:
Cold War: Approximately 1947 (due to U.S. President Harry Truman’s Truman Doctrine) to 1991 (Operation Desert Storm, collapse of Soviet Union).
NATO reporting name Hip. The Михаил Мил Ми-8 (Mikhail Mil Mi-8) rotary wing began military service in 1968, with the Soviet Union. First production was done in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. The Mi-17 Hip has more powerful turbines than the Mi-8 Hip, also, the position of the tail rotor is different.
A Soviet Aeroflot silly-vilian Hip, early 1970s.
The Mi-8 is also used by silly-vilian (civilian) transport companies. I have several Western/NATO publications from the 1970s that speculate that the Mi-8 started military service prior to 1967. The earliest photos I’ve found of the Hip are from the early 1970s.
Fresh Hip for Pakistan, early 1970s.
Warsaw Pact Poland’s PWL license built the silly-vilian Hip, early 1970s.
Purportedly a Hungarian Hip, early 1970s.
Soviet military Hips, early 1970s.
Silly-vilian ambulance version, photo published 1980.
Slov-Air airliner Hip, 1980.
1980.
Warsaw Pact Czechoslovakia Hip, 1980.
Fueling a Warsaw Pact Czechoslovak Hip, during a snow storm, 1980.
Egyptian Hips, photo dated 10SEP1983.
Soviet Hip visiting Little Diomede, Alaska, part of Operation Bering Bridge to help Alaskan Eskimos visit their relatives in the Soviet Union. Photo by Master Sergeant Ed Boyce, 23APR1989.
Vietnamese Hip, 08FEB1991. Photo by Master Sergeant Jose Lopez.
Abandoned Iraqi Hip, after Desert Storm, 03MAR1991. Photo by Staff Sergeant Dean W. Wagner.
Post Cold War, Balkan Wars, War on Terror, Battle for Ukraine, 1992 to present:
Last days of a former East German Mi-8S VIP transport. Photo credit C.J. van Gent, published 1993.
Kazak Hip during the international Central Asian ‘Peacekeeping’ Battalion 2000 so-called humanitarian wargame in Kazakhstan. U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Jim Varhegyi, 10SEP2000.
The remains of an Afghan Hip, 18JAN2002. Photo by Captain Charles G. Grow.
In 2005, a new Hip was created with improved turbines, larger cargo door, it was called the Mi-8AMT, but the export version is known as the Mi-171.
United Nations’ Hip during Operation Jingle Air in Afghanistan, 07JUN2008. U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Charles Brice.
Iraqi Hip, 17OCT2009. U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Travis Zielinski.
U.S. Air Force video (by Technical Sergeant Scott Wilcox), Afghans prep their new U.S. taxpayer funded Hip for take-off, 10NOV2009:
Russian Hips in Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, moments before taking off to support the landing of another Soyuz spacecraft, 08MAR2010. Photo credit Bill Ingalls.
Lithuanian Mi-8 lands onboard USS Mount Whitney during a NATO wargame, 17SEP2010. U.S. Navy photo.
Croat Mi-171 Hip, 29MAY2012, U.S. Army video by Staff Sergeant Jose Ibarra:
Czech Republic (Czechia) Hips on the Baumholder Training Support Center, Germany, for a NATO wargame, 12SEP2014. U.S. Army photo by Ruediger Hess.
Laotian Hip, 13DEC2017. U.S. Army photo via Clayton Harrison.
Мил Ми-8MTV5 (Mil Mi-8MTV5, export version Mi-17V5) during Russia’s Vostock wargame in the Eastern Military District, 11-17SEP2018:
U.S. Army photo by Sergeant James Lefty Larimer. A ‘hip’ Egyptian helicopter (Mil 17V-5) conducting med-evac (medical evacuation) training during Bright Star 2018.
As of 11SEP2023, NATO-Slovakia now has six NATO-Germany supplied Leopard 2A4 battle tanks.
Photo via Slovak Defense Ministry.
The taxpayers of NATO-Germany should be proud that they are funding 15 rebuilt Cold War era Leopard 2A4 battle tanks for NATO-Slovakia! It is part of a deal Slovakia made to give 30 Cold War era BVP-1 (BMP-1) Infantry Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine.
Official Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic video of the first live-fire training of the Leo-2A4 for Slovak tank crews, in August 2023:
German tankers teach Slovak tankers how to boresight the Rheinmetall 120mm gun, August 2023. Photo via Slovak Defense Ministry.
Bore-sighting the Rheinmetall 120mm gun, August 2023. Photo via Slovak Defense Ministry.
The 120mm round has a silver/gray casing which is combustible plastic, not metal. This one has a Armor-Piercing Discarding Sabot (APDS, aka Sabot) projectile, the blue color indicates it is a training round. Photo via Slovak Defense Ministry.
These are 120mm HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) rounds. Photo via Slovak Defense Ministry.
A Leo-2A4 delivered to Slovakia, April 2023. Photo via Slovak Defense Ministry.
This is just the tip of the spear of the long life of what is now the world’s most prolific and oldest battle tank still in use!
This is about the T-34 series battle tank specifically armed with the 85mm gun. The main gun was a modification of the high velocity 85mm anti-aircraft gun. At first the D-5T version of the 85mm was used, but was quickly replaced by the slightly more compact Zis-S-53 gun.
Great Patriotic War (World War Two):June 1941 to May 1945.
The first T-34-85s, with the D-5T gun, are sometimes called the Model 1943 even though their production was from January-March 1944.
Early T-34-85 with D-5T gun. Note rounded fenders and mish-mash of two styles of roadwheels. One style of roadwheel uses a solid rubber tire, the other style has no rubber tire.
Production of the T-34-85 with the better Zis-S-53 gun began in March 1944, and was called Model 1944. Improved versions were called Model 1945, Model 1946, etcetera, and these model designations did not necessarily refer to the year of production.
Germans use a knocked-out T-34-85, with D-5T gun, as a forward observation post.
During the Great Patriotic War (World War Two), the shape of the turret of the T-34-85 varied depending on which Soviet factory made it. The turret had to be enlarged to accommodate a radio and another crewman. Also, the positions of the turret ventilators shifted. Early on, the fenders were rounded, by the end of the war they were squared-off.
The early, smaller, turret of the T-34-85.
Silent German film, destroyed T-34-85s, 1944:
More silent German film, lots of burning T-34-85s, makes you wonder how the Germans lost:
Yugoslav T-34-85 in the village of Vinkovci, sometime in 1945.
Torgau, Germany, April 1945, Soviets show-off their T-34-85 to a U.S. Major General Reinhardt, who is accompanied by Russian General Rossovsky (divisional general of the First Ukrainian Army):
Cold War: Approximately 1947 (due to U.S. President Harry Truman’s Truman Doctrine) to 1991 (Operation Desert Storm, collapse of Soviet Union).
After the Great Patriotic War, a standardized version of the T-34-85 was developed and several Eastern European countries got the job of upgrading and standardizing as many T-34-85s as they could. Some of the East German and Czechoslovakian upgrades could be identified by the use of the German Notec (Notek) light and different styles of headlight brush guard. Czechoslovakia also designed their own style of exhaust pipe covers, which reduced the amount of steel used to make them.
Silent Soviet film, Moscow Victory Day parade, 09MAY1949:
United Nations’ Korean Police Action, First Battle of the Naktong Bulge, August 1950. Silent U.S. Marine Corps film (dated 17AUG1950) of U.S. Marines and U.S. Army soldiers inspecting knocked-out North Korean T-34-85 in Yongsan Myon (aka Yeongsan-myeon):
South of Suwon, Korea, a T-34-85 that got knocked out when the bridge it was on was bombed by the U.S. Air Force. Photo dated October 1950.
Silent Soviet film, Soviet troops and their T-34-85s supposedly leave Berlin, Germany, early 1950s(?):
Silent film, T-34-85s parade in Budapest, Hungary, early 1950s(?)
Putting down the East German uprising, June 1953.
Silent film, T-34-85s put down worker riots on Potsdamer Platz, in what would become East Berlin, East Germany, June 1953:
This photo shows Soviet General Dibrova standing on top of a T-34-85, imploring protesting Germans to go home.
1953 was a bad year for the Soviet occupiers of what would become East Berlin.
This photo shows protesting Germans trying to break into a Soviet T-34-85.
The 1953 Berlin Crisis would not be the only time Germans rebelled against Soviet occupiers.
Film, D.D.R. (Deutsche Demokratische Republik, German Democratic Republic) NVA (Nationale Volks-Armee, National Folks’ Army aka East German army) shows-off their T-34-85s to the public, 1955-56(?):
Knocked-out Syrian T-34-85, Golan Heights 1957. This is a Czechoslovakian upgrade, the identifying feature are the ‘wavy’ style of exhaust pipe covers, which were specific to Czechoslovak upgrades.
Czechoslovak T-34-85 with Notek, huge external fuel drums and two styles of roadwheels.
Experimenting with water fording.
U.S. Embassy photo. The first tanks deployed in the crisis that led to the building of the Berlin Wall were former Soviet but now East German T-34-85s, on 13AUG1961.
A Cuban T-34-85, supposedly during the April 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion.
Sometime in the 1960s, a T-34 recovery vehicle was used to position Czechoslovak T-35-85s for the Dukla Battlefield Military Open-Air Museum. Photo via Slovak Republic Ministry of Defense.
Sometime in the 1960s, a T-34 recovery vehicle was used to position Czechoslovak T-35-85s for the Dukla Battlefield Military Open-Air Museum. Photo via Slovak Republic Ministry of Defense.
In the late 1960s, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) built the May 16 Square, in Seoul. They used captured North Korean tanks, including this T-34-85, as a display. 27 years after the completion of the square (in 1971) it was torn-up to make the larger, greener, Yeouido Park.
Fresh T-34-85s for Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam (North Vietnam), in 1971, during training for what would become the 1972 Offensive against South Vietnam.
More preparations for the 1972 Offensive. This T-34-85 has two styles of roadwheels.
Knocked-out Cypriot T-34-85s, with U.S. M2 .50 caliber heavy machineguns, during the Turkish invasion of 1974.
I took this photo during a California Army National Guard drill weekend on Fort Irwin, California.
T-34-85 monument, Kiev, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, 20SEP1985. Photo by Don S. Montgomery.
Yugoslavian (possibly JNA, Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija) T-34-85, sometime late 1970s or 1980s.
Yugoslavians preferred the U.S. Browning M2 .50 cal heavy machinegun, over the Soviet version. Contrary to popular western belief, Yugoslavia was never a part of the Warsaw Pact.
The digital watch this guy is wearing indicates the photo was made probably in the 1980s. Also, notice the position of the turret ventilators, instead of two located next to each other, they are separate, one at the turret rear, the other at the turret front.
Post Cold War, Balkan Wars, War on Terror, Battle for Ukraine, 1992 to present:
An abandoned JNA-Serb T-34-85. U.S. Army photo by Specialist Glenn W. Suggs, 29FEB1996.
A rubberized Bosnian-Serb T-34-85.
Supposedly this photo shows a JNA-Serb T-34-85 withdrawing from Macedonia in 2001.
September 2010 video of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) T-34-85 museum exhibit:
Revealed in October 2015, North Korea still uses the T-34-85, it has been upgraded, including new tracks with rubber shoes/pads.
Restored T-34-85 in Zagan, Poland. U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Shiloh Capers, 21OCT2017.
In the ongoing civil war in Yemen, it is reported that both rebels and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia backed militias are using T-34-85s.
Photo from 2018 or 2019 showing a Saudi backed Yemen militia T-34-85 being fired from outside the tank.
CGTN video, during a 2018 parade in Moscow the driver of a T-34-85 got antsy while loading onto a tractor-trailer, and drove off the trailer rolling the tank:
A train-load of Laotian T-34-85s heading for Russia, to be used in parades and movies.
CGTN video, Laos returns 30 operable T-34-85 tanks to Russia in January 2019 (the video incorrectly shows T-34-76 during WW2):
At the beginning of September 2020, the Institute of Military History decided to move the old T-34-85 ‘gate guards’ at the Dukla Battlefield Military Open-Air Museum to a new location in the village of Kapišová, that will make public viewing easier. Photo via Slovak Republic Ministry of Defense.
At the beginning of September 2020, the Institute of Military History decided to move the old T-34-85 ‘gate guards’ at the Dukla Battlefield Military Open-Air Museum to a new location that will make public viewing easier. Photo via Slovak Republic Ministry of Defense.
Video of Yemen rebels destroying a government/Saudi militia T-34-85, sometime in 2022:
Russian ‘Z’ force BRDM drives past the T-34-85 monument in Armyansk, Crimea, 24FEB2022.
Restored T-34/85 takes part in parade rehearsals in Moscow, Russia, honoring the end of The Great Patriotic War. Photo by Bai Xueqi, 07MAY2022, via Xinhua News.
In 2022 and 2023, several news sources reported that both Ukraine and Russia were using T-34-85s in combat!
India still uses the Cold War era Soviet BMP (Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty-Боевая Машина Пехоты, literally Combat Vehicle Infantry), they have a license to build their own BMP-2s. In July 2023, it was reported that the Indian Army wants to upgrade their BMP-2s with modern anti-tank missiles.
U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Joseph Tolliver, 09FEB2021.
BMP-2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle live-fire during U.S. co-sponsored wargame Yudh Abhyas, on Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan, India, 21FEB2021. U.S. Army video by Staff Sergeant Joseph Tolliver (edited by me):
U.S. Marine Corps photo by First Lieutenant Tori Sharpe, 21NOV2019.
Ambulance version, 21NOV2019. USMC photo by First Lieutenant Tori Sharpe.
Ambulance version, 20NOV2019. USMC photo by First Lieutenant Tori Sharpe.
Partial audio U.S. Army video (by Staff Sergeant Robert Ham) of Indian BMP-2 during wargame Yudh Abyhas, 15MAR2012. It should be noted that the U.S.-India wargame was held 70km (43 miles) from the border with Pakistan:
Explaining the anti-tank missile to U.S. counterparts, 12OCT2009. USA photo by Sergeant First Class Rodney Jackson.
U.S. Army video, dated 22OCT2009, Indian BMP-2 during Yudh Abhyas:
USA photo by Staff Sergeant Crista Mary Mack, 22OCT2009.
USA photo by Sergeant First Class Rodney Jackson, 27OCT2009.
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Corporal Marcus E. Melara, 19DEC2022.
United States (U.S.) ally Indonesia has been buying Russian made BMP-3Fs since 2010. A new order was placed in April 2019.
A U.S. Marine in front of a BMP-3F, 09SEP2023. USMC photo by Corporal Vincent Pham.
The BMP-3 is a Cold War era Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) first designed and produced by the Soviet Union in the 1980s, to replace the much older BMP-1 and 2. BMP means Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty-Боевая Машина Пехоты, literally Combat Vehicle Infantry.
Banongan Beach, East Java, Indonesia. U.S. Army photo by Specialist Maria I. Garcia, 10SEP2023.
During this year’s U.S. taxpayer co-funded international wargame Super Garuda Shield 2023, Indonesia showed-off its BMP-3F.
Making smoke. USA photo by Specialist Josue Mayorga, 10SEP2023.
The BMP-3 has a 100mm cannon with a co-axially mounted 30mm machine-cannon, as well as anti-tank missiles and light machine guns.
In this U.S. Army video (recorded on 10SEP2023 by Specialist Josue Mayorga) you’ll see that Indonesia also operates the U.S./British made (BAE Systems subsidiary U.S. Combat Systems) AAVP-7:
USMC photo by Corporal Marcus E. Melara, 19DEC2022.
BMP-3F during wargame Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARaT)/Marine Exercise (MarEx), December 2022.
