Amongst the first pieces of ‘regular’ heavy equipment noted as operated by the Wagner Group were examples such this BMD-3 light infantry fighting vehicle sighted in September 2022. Developed in the 1980s and with the first examples delivered in 1990, few were built due to the economic situation in the USSR and Russia at that time. Their original purpose was to provide the VDV with a fully amphibious and air-droppable (with the crew of three inside) vehicle carrying a stabilised 30mm 2A42 autocannon (with 500 rounds), and a 9P135M missile launcher for 9K111 Fagot and 9M113 Konkurs anti-tank guided missiles. It offered space for seven dismounts. This armament configuration proved its worth in combat in Ukraine, although the amour made of aluminium alloy proved much too easy to penetrate even by 7.62mm machine guns, not to mention heavier weapons. (Artwork by David Bocquelet)