Russian propaganda exposed: M113 ballistic test blunders revealed online

An interesting recording of the Russian tests of the armour of a very old M113 armoured personnel carrier, which dates back to the Vietnam War, appeared online. We explain what went wrong in the Russian propaganda show.

The Russians captured a lot of interesting pieces of Western military equipment from the Ukrainians. We had cases of tanks like the Leopard 2A6 and the M1A1 Abrams and combat infantry vehicles like the M2A2 Bradley ODS and the CV90, whose inspection with a stick was conducted by the Russian Minister of Defence, Sergey Shoygu himself.

This time, a recording of ballistic tests of the old M113 armoured personnel carrier was posted online. Such tests are not surprising, but the way they are conducted is. The propaganda recording below shows enormous Russian ineptitude in many aspects.

The first case is when, from just 100 metres, the 2A42 automatic cannon with a calibre of 30 mm exhibits tragic accuracy, as only one of the two fired projectiles hit the side of the M113 carrier. One projectile flies over the M113, and the second hole visible later is the result of another series that the Russians did not include in the recording.

This means that such poor accuracy may even prevent hitting the target at greater distances. The reason could be a worn barrel, a faulty specimen, a stabilisation system, or ammunition that fails to meet the parameters, which is the norm in new Russian production or deliveries from North Korea.

The second issue is the Russians shooting at the side armour of the M113 carrier, which is much weaker than the front behind which the engine is located. Nevertheless, the M113 armour was never designed to survive shelling from 30 mm cannons and was only supposed to protect from artillery shrapnel and machine guns.

It is not surprising then that the 30 mm projectiles pierced quickly, creating a cloud of deadly aluminium shrapnel inside the M113, which is lethal to anyone inside.

The holes left by the projectiles indicate that the Russians used standard 3UBR6 rounds containing a 400 g projectile made of hardened steel with a hardness of 47-56 HRC. When leaving the barrel, it has a velocity of 970 m/s and, according to the Russians, should penetrate 20 mm of armour steel set at a 60-degree angle at a distance of 700 metres. This is standard Russian ammunition for 30 mm cannons.

Finally, the Russians measured the thickness of the armour by inserting a steel rod into the bullet hole. They boast that this is how "specialists" search for weak points in Western equipment.