BSCh-8

The BSCh-8 is a type of tracked infantry fighting vehicle developed in Menghe during the 2000s. It is the successor to the BSCh-5, with improved armor protection but no amphibious capability.

Development

Interest in a new Menghean IFV began in the wake of the Polvokian Civil War. During Menghe's intervention in that conflict, units equipped with BSCh-5 IFVs suffered high losses. A subsequent review of Menghean losses in Polvokia concluded that most BSCh-5 losses resulted from RPG fire, 12.7mm HMG fire from the sides, and roadside bombs. Designed for use in conventional battles on open terrain, the BSCh-5 was especially vulnerable in ambushes and close-range combat due to its thin side armor.

In response, the Menghean Ministry of National Defense ordered the development of a new IFV. This time, the design requirements called for a greater focus on protection, particularly protection off the frontal arc. The new vehicle would have to withstand direct 12.7mm fire from the sides and rear at a range of 200 meters, while also withstanding 23mm armor-piercing ammunition from 200 meters over the 120-degree frontal arc. Protection from the PG-7 high-explosive anti-tank warhead was also desired, along with good protection against roadside bombs and land mines. Given the increased mass of this armor, the MoND did not require the vehicle to be amphibious, though it would need a power-to-mass ratio of at least 22 hp/tonne in order to maintain good offroad performance.

Samsan Defense, which was also working on a prototype 150mm howitzer which would become the P150G2P, also entered the new IFV program. The Chikai Heavy Machine Building Plant entered a competing prototype based on the JCh-5 main battle tank. Though the Chikai prototype had better protection, Samsan's entry offered more crew space, a lighter weight, and reduced fuel consumption, while still meeting protection requirements. Working prototype vehicles from both design teams underwent evaluation in 2004, when Samsan's entry was selected as the basis for the new IFV.

The subsequent breakdown of relations with Maverica and Innominada in 2005 forced the Ministry of National Defense to order new changes to the design. Frontal protection against 23mm APDS was no longer sufficient: the new IFV would need to be able to withstand 30mm APFSDS ammunition fired by Maverican BMP-2 IFVs. Likewise, the side armor would have to withstand 14.5×114mm ammunition from the KPV heavy machine gun, common on Maverican APCs and light vehicles. Mass-production of the vehicle was delayed as Samsan increased the hull armor accordingly and upgraded the engine to compensate for the added weight.

The final version of the Samsan prototype was finally accepted for mass production in 2009. Samsan opened a new production facility in Daegok to manufacture it, and the Ministry of National Defense retooled the Taehwa Armored Vehicle Plant to supplement production.

Design

Layout

In terms of its overall layout, the BSCh-8 resembles a conventional Western IFV, much unlike the BSCh-3 and BSCh-5 which preceded it. The driver is seated in the front left corner of the hull, but there is no separate passenger seat behind him; instead, directly behind the driver is the turret, with the passenger compartment behind that. Its profile also resembles that of Western IFVs, particularly the K21 and Bionix.

The order of the turret crew is also reversed compared to the BSCh-5, which, unique among Menghean combat vehicles, put the gunner on the right side of the turret and the commander on the left. The BSCh-8 restores the arrangement seen on tanks like the JCh-5 through JCh-8, with the commander on the right. Much like the BSCh-5, the BSCh-8 gives the commander a relatively good view of the battlefield, with seven periscopes providing 300-degree vision. The commander's only blind spot is the left-rear sector, where a mounting point for a remote weapon system sits in place of the eighth periscope. To counteract this, the gunner has four periscopes covering the rear, left rear, left, and front left, in addition to a forward-facing electro-optical sight for aiming the gun.

The passenger compartment has eight seats in two inward-facing rows of four. The original design requirement for the BSCh-8 requested a 3+7 crew-passenger capacity, the same as that of the BSCh-5, but the symmetrical all-rear passenger compartment of the BSCh-8 would have unused space if only seven passengers were carried. During the design process, this space was initially reserved for supplies, ammunition, or even a chemical toilet with a wraparound modesty curtain, but in the end the Menghean Army opted to add a seventh dismount to the mechanized rifle squad in BSCh-8-equipped units. The eightht seat is filled by a member of the platoon headquarters: either the platoon LT, the platoon SSGT, or the platoon sharpshooter.

The roof of the passenger compartment has two large square hatches, much like the hatches on the BSCh-5. These allow the four rearmost dismounts in the passenger compartment to stand up and fire over the sides of the vehicle. Because the BSCh-8 lacks firing ports, this is the only way to perform a mounted assault. There is also a circular hatch with periscopes covering 245 degrees to the rear. In the lead vehicle of each platoon, the platoon LT uses this hatch to survey the battlefield, either from under armor or with his head and shoulders sticking through. Otherwise, a member of the squad uses it to maintain situational awareness. Compared to the BSCh-5, which puts the platoon LT behind the driver, the BSCh-5 offers poor forward visibility, though the LT can stand in the hatch to peer over the turret. The commander also has access to a multifunction display in the passenger compartment, and can take video feed from the commander's sight or even control the commander's sight directly.

The dismounts exit through a single door in the rear of the hull. The designers chose a door over a mechanical ramp on the basis that the former option is less prone to failure and quicker to open, while still being large enough that all passengers can easily dismount.

Protection

The armor protection of the BSCh-8 is one of its most important advances over previous Menghean IFVs. The base hull armor is able to withstand 12.7mm HMG fire from all directions at 200 meters, and 25mm APFSDS fire over the 60-degree frontal arc. The applique plate kit used by production-model G variants increases this to 14.5mm fire over the forward 270-degree arc and 30mm APFSDS fire over the 60-degree frontal arc, again at 200 meters each. Because 14.5mm and 30mm are the gun calibers of Maverica's main APCs and IFVs, respectively, this gives a mechanized infantry company with the BSCh-8 a significant edge over an opponent with BTRs or BMP-2s: at typical combat ranges, it can penetrate their armor, but they cannot penetrate its armor.

On most production BSCh-8 vehicles, the hull armor is supplemented by some type of applique armor kit. All of these kits aimed to provide 270-degree forward protection (that is, everywhere except the rear plate) against anti-tank weapons likely to be carried by an enemy mechanized infantry squad, particularly the ubiquitous RPG-7.

The G1 variant, hastily introduced during the Innominadan Crisis, has slat armor surrounding the G variant's existing applique plates. Combat experience and controlled testing, however, found that slat armor only prevented RPG-7 projectiles from detonating 50% of the time, and where they did detonate, the additional standoff distance did not have a major impact on explosive jet penetration. Subsequent variants, like the G2, N1, and D, reduced the slat armor coverage to the lower half of the hull only, where a direct RPG hit is unlikely and the additional space between the slat grid and the hull side armor helps disperse the HEAT jet.

Operators

• Menghe

See also

• K21 (Hanhae)
• Mitsubishi Type 89 IFV (Dayashina)