Latest Russian infantry vehicle, BMP‑3 Sinica, ready for frontline testing in Ukraine

Throughout history, Russians have been pioneers in the field of remotely controlled armored vehicles. Indeed, as far back as World War II, they used teletanks, which were essentially tanks reconfigured to be primarily radio-controlled, albeit with limited success.

The BMP-3 Sinica, a vehicle developed 80 years later, seems to align with this earlier concept. The linchpin of its design is the Sinica turret, initially exhibited in 2017 along with the BMD-4M transporter chassis.

The current form of the vehicle, featuring the Sinica turret on the BMP-3 chassis, was revealed five years later at the Armija-2022 exhibition.

The turret is outfitted with the same powerful weaponry as the basic BMP-3's Bachca-U turret: a 100-mm cannon that also functions as an anti-tank guided missile launcher, automatically loaded with a reserve of 22 missiles. Four of these are the guidance-enabled anti-tank missiles from the 9M117 Bastion system.

Accompanying the 100-mm cannon is a secondary 30-mm 2A72 cannon and a 7.62 mm PKTM machine gun. In the BMP-3 Sinica variant, the vehicle is operated by a duo responsible for controlling both the vehicle and its arsenal, a shift from the traditional three-person crew.

They can operate the vehicle from within or from outside using a portable console when the BMP-3 Sinica is deployed as an unmanned vehicle.

Such versatile equipment is touted by the Russians for reconnaissance operations or combat in high threat scenarios, and also for leading columns of manned vehicles. Following a series of tests on Russian testing grounds, the BMP-3 Sinica vehicles are planned to be transferred to Ukraine for additional trials under real frontline conditions.