Russia rebrands 'Terminator' tank amid battlefield woes
Reports regarding the Kremlin's planned name change of the heavy combat support vehicle BMPT Terminator to something "more familiar to Russians" have turned out to be true. Although this machine is still promoted as a superweapon, the war in Ukraine has significantly highlighted its weaknesses.
In an official statement issued by Rostec, three of the most interesting proposals selected by the heads of the corporation were presented, along with a reminder of the most important capabilities of this vehicle. However, Ukrainian and Western analysts have repeatedly noted that the BMPT Terminator has been harshly tested in the ongoing war, and a new name may not conceal its problems.
Russian BMPT Terminator to get a new name
The proposals listed by Rostec for the new name of the BMPT Terminator are "Dobrinja", "STIM", and "Pierieswiet". None of them are arbitrary.
The Russians explicitly state that "STIM" is an acronym for "Sojuz Tanka i Masziny" (Union of Tank and Machine/Vehicle). "Dobrinja" is most likely a reference to Dobrynia, the grand prince of Novgorod Rus or Dobrynia, the voivode and tutor of the grand prince Vladimir. "Pierieswiet" refers to Alexander Peresvet, a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Uralvagonzavod board member Igor Meshkov states, "The issue of abandoning the American name of the powerful Russian machine has been ongoing in society for some time." In February this year, information emerged suggesting that the Kremlin abandoned the name referring to American pop culture and ordered the search for "something more dignified."
BMPT Terminator is intimidating only on paper
Rostec's promotional statement claims that "the BMPT can effortlessly eliminate everything in its path, from infantry and lightly armoured vehicles to tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and armoured personnel carriers."
However, Russian assurances do not reflect reality. As Łukasz Michalik explains, clashes with Ukrainians have highlighted the weaknesses of this Russian vehicle and shown that the BMPT Terminator is not a superweapon but an impressive flop, sometimes even criticised by Russians themselves.
The BMPT Terminator is very heavily armed, with two cannons of 30 millimetres calibre, two grenade launchers of 40 millimetres calibre, a machine gun, and four Ataka-T guided anti-tank missile launchers. However, encounters in Ukraine have revealed that it is significantly less armoured than its designers claimed. Another issue is its operation by a large crew (five people), which was once criticised by the author of the Topwar.ru website, Yevgeny Fedorov. Among the significantly larger problems than the name, Western analysts also cite its susceptibility to electronic malfunctions and the costly and complicated repairs involved.
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