Rosoboronexport press-service, Russia’s sole state mediator in defense international trade, announced it started promoting the export version of the Boomerang universal combat platform.
The 8x8 combat vehicle made its public debut at the Victory parade in Moscow in 2015. According to the Russian media, the vehicle completed “preliminary tests” in December 2019.
“The launch of the marketing campaign for the Boomerang’s export version is good news for Rosoboronexport and our partners. The combat platform was developed in accordance with design specification requirements from the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD),” said Alexander Mikheev, Rosoboronexport CEO.
According to Mr. Mikheev, the Russian military confirmed the platform fighting and operational capabilities to meet current and future combat requirements. He also added that several African, Middle East, Southeast Asian countries as well as Russia’s neighboring states have already expressed interest in Boomerang. Mr. Mikheev estimated the volume of export contracts of the Boomerang platform on sum of USD1 billion.
The Boomerang 8x8 amphibious combat vehicle is designed to handle a wide range of combat and peacekeeping missions.
The vehicle employs an advanced module design with the driving compartment at the front left, the engine compartment at the front right, the fighting compartment in the middle, and the troop compartment at the rear. The Boomerang has a crew of 3 and can accommodate from 8 to 11 troops. The troops enter and leave the vehicle via roof hatches and rear door or ramp.
Depending on the customer request a variety of weapon stations can be mounted on the platform. These could be remote controlled and manned weapon stations. The vehicles being so far demonstrated have been equipped with an impressive mortal combination including a 30 mm automatic cannon and a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, a 30 mm automatic grenade launcher, two launchers with two Kornet ATGMs on each side of the turret. The Kornet has a killing range of up to 10km to make the Boomerang the deadliest vehicle in its class.
To control weapons and conduct aimed fire, a modern digital fire control system includes a two-plane weapon stabilizer, a multi-channel electro-optical sighting system with a built-in laser rangefinder, and automated gunner’s and commander’s workstations with a multi-function display and an integrated ballistic computer.
High mobility and a smooth ride of the vehicle are achieved through the use of eight-wheel-drive, independent suspension and a fuel-efficient 750 hp diesel engine. The vehicle is reported to reach a speed of over 100 km/h on the highway with 50 km/h over a hush terrain and has a cruising range of at least 800 km.
The vehicle is also able to negotiate water obstacles even in Sea State 3 with a speed of at least 10 km/h, keeping endurance of up to 12 hours.
According to the Russian sources, the Boomerang is comparable to foreign combat armored vehicles in its combat capabilities and tasks at hand and even exceeds them: in cross-country ability - through a more powerful engine, in protection - thanks to an active armor system, in fire power - due to the use of combined armament with ATGM systems.
Russia has always been one of the leaders in the world armor export. The Sputnik agency has counted this share in 2010-2017 as 1206 vehicles on sum of USD 1.483 Billion. It looks like an early receipt of the so called “passport of export outlook” for the Boomerang in parallel with deliveries to the national army, gives a second breath to the Russian defense export.
