BRDM is an

initialism An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial letter of each word in all caps wi ...

for ''Boyevaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina'', (RU Боевая Разведывательная Дозорная Машина), literally "Combat Reconnaissance Patrol Vehicle". The BRDM is a eight-wheeled

amphibious vehicle An amphibious vehicle (or simply amphibian) is a vehicle that works both on land and on or under water. Amphibious vehicles include amphibious Amphibious cycle, bicycles, Amphibious ATV, ATVs, Amphibious automobile, cars, Duckboats, buses, truc ...

which is very lightly armoured by today's standards. Both versions were produced in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and other

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

countries. Both versions came in an

ATGM An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...

variant. The BRDM-2 also came as a command vehicle and as an

air defence Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

vehicle.

BRDM-1

The

BRDM-1 The BRDM-1 (''Bronirovannaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina'', Бронированная Разведывательная Дозорная Машина, literally "armored reconnaissance/patrol vehicle") is a Soviet amphibious armored scout c ...

(also known as the

BTR-40 The BTR-40 (БТР, from Бронетранспортёр, or '' Bronetransporter'', literally "armoured transporter† is a Soviet open-topped, wheeled armoured personnel carrier and reconnaissance vehicle. It is often referred to as the ''Soro ...

P) first appeared in 1959, and was in production until 1966. Total production was around 10,000 vehicles; less than 600 remain in the reserves of a number of countries. It was armed with a pintle-mounted heavy machine gun. The initial version of the vehicle, the Model 1957, had an open roof, but the standard production model, the Model 1958, had a roof with twin hatches. The vehicle was used as the basis of the 2P27 anti-tank missile launcher, using AT-1 Snapper missiles mounted in a retractable launcher.

BRDM-2

The

BRDM-2 The BRDM-2 (''Boyevaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina'', Боевая Разведывательная Дозорная Машина, literally "Combat Reconnaissance/Patrol Vehicle") is an amphibious armoured scout car designed and developed ...

was intended to replace the earlier BRDM-1 with a vehicle that had improved amphibious capabilities and better armament. The BRDM-2 is driven by a rear-mounted

gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...

engine that also supplies power to a waterjet for amphibious travel. It has a crew of four, a driver, co-driver, commander, and gunner. The armament is the same as the

BTR-60 The BTR-60 is the first vehicle in a series of Soviet Union, Soviet eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers (APCs). It was developed in the late 1950s as a replacement for the BTR-152 and was seen in public for the first time in 1961. BTR (vehi ...

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

, a 14.5 mm

KPV heavy machine gun The KPV heavy machine gun (, an initialism for ) is a Soviet designed 14.5×114mm-caliber heavy machine gun, which first entered service as an infantry weapon in 1949. In the 1960s, the infantry version was taken out of production because it was ...

with a 7.62 mm machine gun as a secondary weapon. The armor on the vehicle protects fully against

small arms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

fire and

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

shell splinters. This vehicle has been exported extensively and is in use in at least 45 countries. The BRDM-2 is sometimes confused with the Hungarian

D-442 FUG The D-442 FUG () and D-944 PSZH () are the result of Hungarian domestic development of relatively cheap amphibious armoured scout car and armored personnel carrier series. The FUG and PSZH were exported with limited success, thus it is also known ...

amphibious scout car and the

D-944 PSZH The D-442 FUG () and D-944 PSZH () are the result of Hungarian domestic development of relatively cheap amphibious armoured scout car and armored personnel carrier series. The FUG and PSZH were exported with limited success, thus it is also known ...

APC, which have rear engines but also have twin waterjets. The

9K31 Strela-1 The 9K31 ''Strela-1'' (; ) is a highly mobile, short-range, low altitude infra-red guided surface-to-air missile system. Originally developed by the Soviet Union under the GRAU designation 9K31, it is commonly known by its NATO reporting name, ...

(NATO name "Gaskin") mobile

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

system is based on a modified BRDM-2 (4 x 4) amphibious chassis with its belly wheels removed. The original turret has been replaced by a one-man turret with an elevating arm on each side. Mounted to each arm is a box-type launcher for the SA-9 fire-and-forget missiles. To reduce the overall height of the system for travelling, the missiles are normally lowered into the horizontal position on each side of the vehicle.

BRDM-3

Although some Western sources use the designator ''BRDM-3'' for the 9P148—an anti-tank variant of the

with ATGM launcher—the BRDM-3 is in fact based on the BTR-80AK and with a new day/night vision device in front of the commander's position. The crew consists of 6 men.

References

{{PostWWIISovietAFVS Wheeled amphibious vehicles Scout cars of the Soviet Union