A rare Russian armoured vehicle known as the BPM-97 Vystrel was destroyed by operators of the 427th Rarog Separate Unmanned Systems Regiment, according to a video published on the regiment’s official Telegram account. The vehicle, used by Russian forces to transport personnel, was hit by an FPV drone in a precision strike.
The BPM-97 Vystrel is an uncommon vehicle in the Russian army. Since the start of the Russian dictator’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, only five such vehicles have been lost by Russian forces: two destroyed beyond repair and three captured by Ukrainian forces. The vehicle’s limited use reflects its production history and performance issues.
The Vystrel was first introduced in 2008, with around 150 units manufactured by 2013 at the Remdizel plant, a subsidiary of KamAZ. The armoured hulls were produced at the Kurgan Machine-Building Plant. Despite its armoured design, the Vystrel suffered significant reliability problems, including broken suspension springs, driveshaft failures, and cracks in the armour plates. These flaws led to its limited deployment, mostly within security and law enforcement units rather than the regular army.
The vehicle was seen in combat zones as early as January 2015, notably in Krasnodon, Luhansk region, where it was identified as part of the 7th Russian Military Base stationed in Abkhazia. It was also spotted during separatist training exercises in Luhansk, where about a dozen units were used. During the ongoing conflict, Russian forces have lost at least four of these vehicles, based on open-source photographic evidence.
The appearance of such outdated and unreliable vehicles on the front lines indicates the Kremlin’s growing shortage of proper military equipment. Russian forces have increasingly relied on restoring old vehicles from storage and even deploying civilian cars and motorcycles for assaults. For instance, the 10th Edelweiss Mountain Assault Brigade recently repelled a Russian attack near Siversk, where the enemy used civilian vehicles modified with anti-drone protection and other adaptations.
In total, the Russian forces sent 12 civilian vehicles in that assault, all of which were destroyed by Ukrainian defenders.
