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BpZV Svatava

The BpZV [Bojové Pruzkumné Vozidlo - Combat recon vehicle) Svatava (an archaic Czech female name, also a river in northern Bohemia) is a reconnaissance fighting vehicle on a BMP-1 track chassis, designed for amphibious reconnaissance operations or for fighting activities at the enemy’s rear. The crew consisted of 6 members: commander, driver, gunner, scout - radio operator, scout - navigator and scout-operator. Constructed on the carriage of a BVP (also known as BMP), it is designed for conducting detached reconnaissance or combat activities in enemy rear areas.

The major difference to the BVP (BMP) is in its eight-barrel launching device 902S, mounted on the back side of the turret, which enables the throwing of smoke grenades. The compartment for operators is divided into workplaces of radio operator, navigator and reconnaissance operator. In addition to the weapons and protection systems of the basic BVP-1 (BMP-1), the BPzV vehicle is equipped with PSNR-5 radar.

At the beginning of the 1980s the need for a new reconnaissance vehicle emerged, because the current OT65 was no longer sufficient in all of the important parameters - off-road capability, manoeuvring, weak equipment and reconnaissance devices. Combat recoinnaissance was generally conducted by the OT-65 armored transporter (in its recon configuration). This vehicle was far from perfect and had a number of weakspots. For one, it's a wheeled vehicle, which by itself causes lower terrain passability. Its maneuverability was also low and even the heavier versions were insufficiently armed for the task. During the army divisional training in 1977 and 1981, this has become even more apparent.

The first BpZV Svatava prototype was made in 1985 in the design department at Trencin and was tested. The final tests, carried out in the second half of 1987, were successful and the Svatava was recommended by the commission to be used in the Czechoslovak People’s Army. Between 1988 and 1990, the ZTS Detva manufacturing facility produced 200 PpZV Svatava vehicles that were included in the equipment for reconnaissance tank units and mechanised divisions. Tthe improved chassis reached the BMP-2 parameters.

After the Czech Republic/Slovak Republic split, Czech army was using the Svatava vehicle until 2009, when it was declared obsolete and the last surviving 12 Svatavas were decommissioned. It was replaced by BVP-2 (licensed BMP-2) vehicles (without any recon equipment).