Self-propelled mortar BMP-2B9

Self-propelled mortar BMP-2B9 at the KADEX-2016 exhibition.

As part of the exhibition of weapons and military equipment KADEX-2014, the Kazakh company "Semey Engineering" for the first time presented to the public a prototype self-propelled 82-mm mortar BMP-2B9 of its own design.

The mortar on the modern battlefield is still an important element of the artillery fire system, incl. in direct support of the rushing units. However, the designers of modern mortars, while maintaining their main features (the ability to conduct high-speed firing, relatively simple design, moderate weight, high rate of fire), improve them by increasing mobility, introducing fire control systems or introducing more and more effective ammunition, including adjustable and guided ammunition. The mortar, compared to other types of cannon artillery, is usually cheaper to buy and operate. Of course, the range of the mortar is much lower than in the case of a howitzer or a gun firing shells of comparable mass, but this is due to the steep trajectory of its shells, at even greater elevation angles than when firing from a howitzer (cannon howitzers), the so-called upper group corners. On the other hand, the ability to fire "over the hill" gives mortars a significant tactical advantage over other guns in elevated or mountainous terrain, in wooded areas, as well as in urban areas.

The industry of Kazakhstan also offers its own solution for a self-propelled mortar. Given the solutions used in it, it is obvious that we are talking about self-employment, but it may also be of interest to the neighbors of the Central Asian republic or countries with limited funds for the modernization of the armed forces.

Specializing in the repair of weapons and military equipment, and recently in its production, JSC "Semey Engineering" belongs to the state holding "Kazakhstan Engineering". The enterprise was established after the declaration of independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan, after the transformation of factories for the repair of armored vehicles in the city of Semya in the eastern part of the country, established in 1976, i.e. back in Soviet times. Semey Engineering specializes in the repair of armored vehicles - wheeled and tracked, their modernization, the production of training equipment for these vehicles, as well as the conversion of combat vehicles into engineering vehicles that can be used not only in the army, but also in the civilian economy.