The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle that has been in service from 1966 to the present. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pyekhoty 1, meaning "infantry fighting vehicle, 1st serial model". The BMP-1 was the first mass-produced infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) of the Soviet Union. It was called the M-1967, BMP and BMP-76PB by NATO before its correct designation was known.
A Polish BMP-1 (BWP-1) during a training exercise in 2016
An East German BMP-1 with eight passengers
A rear view of a plinthed BMP-1 in Lebyazhye, Lomonosovsky District, Leningrad Oblast
Two Bulgarian Army soldiers man the driver's and gunner's stations, while a US Army soldier occupies the commander's position of a Bulgarian BMP-1 IFV.
Infantry fighting vehicle
An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe defines an infantry fighting vehicle as "an armoured combat vehicle which is designed and equipped primarily to transport a combat infantry squad, and which is armed with an integral or organic cannon of at least 20 millimeters calibre and sometimes an antitank missile launcher". IFVs often serve both as the principal weapons system and as the mode of transport for a mechanized infantry unit.
A M2 Bradley tracked infantry fighting vehicle in US service during the Second Battle of Fallujah (2004)
A Russian BMP-3 with embarked infantry
West German troops aboard a Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30, the world's first IFV. (1965)
An East German BMP-1 with eight passengers (1988)