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BMD-4M vs BMP-3: how to tell them apart

Two infantry fighting vehicles that are easy to mix up at a glance. Here is what tells them apart.

BMD-4M, infantry fighting vehicle from Russia

BMD-4M

Infantry fighting vehicle, Russia. In service since 2016

What gives it away

Low airborne tracked vehicle with a BMP-3 style turret: 100 mm gun with a 30 mm cannon alongside.

Used by

Russia

Photo: Vitaly V. Kuzmin, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
BMP-3, infantry fighting vehicle from Soviet Union

BMP-3

Infantry fighting vehicle, Soviet Union. In service since 1987

What gives it away

Wide flat hull, turret with a 100 mm gun and a 30 mm cannon side by side, six road wheels.

Used by

Russia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait

Photo: Mike1979 Russia, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
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