The BMP-3 is a Soviet and Russian infantry fighting vehicle, successor to the BMP-1 and BMP-2. The abbreviation BMP stands for Boevaya Mashina Pekhoty (literally "infantry combat vehicle").
The BMP-3 is a Russian-made tracked amphibious infantry fighting vehicle, a successor to the BMP-1 and BMP-2, which entered service with the Soviet army in 1990 and made its first public appearance the same year. Kurganmashzavod of Kurgan, Russian Federation manufactures the chassis and the Instrument Design Bureau (KBP) of Tula is responsible for the turret. It is a tracked, armored, amphibious vehicle designed to engage armored ground and air targets while stationary, on the move, and afloat. The first export customer was Abu Dhabi, part of the United Arab Emirates, which placed an initial order for 330 vehicles that were delivered between 1992 and 1995. These vehicles have a number of modifications to meet the specific operational requirements of Abu Dhabi, with some of the vehicles being fitted with a Namut thermal sight which includes a thermal camera mounted on the left side of the turret rear and provide a thermal view for the gunner. In September 2015, the Russian defense industry announced that Iraq had a plan to acquire 500 BMP-3 tracked armored IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicles) from Russia. According to the SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) Arms Transfers Database, Iraq ordered 300 BMP-3 IFVs in 2015 that were delivered in 2018-2019.
