The first BMP-2s were deployed to Afghanistan in 1982 and the BMP-2D was a further modification to suit local conditions, the most obvious being the addition of side-skirts to resist 12.7mm machine gun fire. Some vehicles may also have had additional mine protection for the crew. This artwork shows one of four BMP-2Ds assigned to a company of the 860th Separate Motor Rifle Regiment in the Faizabad area around 1984–1985: their known hull numbers were 242, 243, 244, and 246. All four have had their original dark green overall colour largely repainted with brown or dark sand colour, and splotches of dark green then ‘outlined’ in light grey. Notably, like all BMP-2Ds, they had storage boxes on the rear of the turret, and a bank with three smoke mortars on either side. In comparison, and with a handful of exceptions, most of the BMP-2Ds assigned to the 108th MRR of the 108th Motor Rifle Division as of 1986–1987, usually wore a camouflage pattern in two shades of green, which tended to bleach under the sun, dust, mud and wear into various shades of light green and light brown. (Artwork by David Bocquelet)