Santa Barbara BMR-PM

     Notes: The BMR-PM is a mortar-carrier variant of the BMR-600 armored personnel carrier.   Externally very similar to the BMR-600 in appearance, the PM is very different internally.  The PM comes in two versions, the BMR-PM-81 with an 81mm mortar, and the BMR-PM-120 with a 120mm mortar.  Upgraded versions include the BMR-PM81-M1 and the BMR-PM120-M1. The BMR-PM supplements modified M-113s mortar carriers in the Spanish Army.  The BMR-600 is also in service with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Peru; I have not been able to determine whether any of those countries uses the BMR-PM.

     In both cases, the BMR-PM is mounted on an integral turntable in the floor of the compartment which fires over the rear and allows a 45-degree traverse in either direction. They fire through large hatches on the rear deck; this replaces hatches that may be on a BMR-600’s rear deck.  The interior fighting compartment is taken up by the usual mortar and ammunition, along with legacy equipment.  Outside, on the sides of the rear hull, are a ground baseplate, bipod, and aiming stakes.

     The driver of the BMR-PM is on the front left in a separate cabin which projects forward of the glacis plate.  The driver has a large bullet-resistant windshield with armored shutters to his front and smaller windows to each side.  The driver has a hatch atop his position, and in this hatch is a port for a night vision block.  The commander is directly behind him; he mans an RWS with an M-2HB and has all-around vision blocks.  To the rear of this on the deck are two more hatches, opening right and left.  At the rear of the troop compartment is a powered ramp with a door in it.  There is one firing port on each side of the hull near the front of the fighting compartment, and two in the rear in the ramp.  The firing ports allow the crew to fight from the inside. The two other firing ports normally on this chassis are plated over; ammunition storage and radios cover their position.

     The BMR-PM uses a Pegaso 9157/8 306-horsepower diesel engine, coupled to an automatic transmission.  The BMR-PM has 6x6 drive, and all wheels have independent suspension making it quite adept off-road.  The transmission further has a limited-slip differential, and the tires are run-flat.  The BMR-PM has a winch at the rear which can be led out the front, and has a 4.5-ton capacity with 50 meters of cable.

    The BMR-PM-M1 upgraded version have new Scania DS9 61A 24S 310-horsepower turbocharged diesel engines, which run cleaner and are easier to service, and smaller in size.  They are fitted with additional appliqué armor and air conditioning units. They have been made amphibious, and have had waterjets installed at the rear to help in this capacity.  The BMR-PM-M1 also has a number of automotive and electrical system upgrades and fixes, and has been equipped with puncture-resistant, run-flat tires. They have a new Dragar-derived one-man turret with heavier armament.  Radiation shielding has been fitted.  The driver’s steering wheel is adjustable for height, and the BMR-PM-M1 has an automatic fire detection and suppression system, as well as self-sealing fuel tanks.  Three smoke grenade launchers have been added to either side of the turret.  The BMT-PM-M1 is equipped with a GPS/Inertial Navigation/mapping computer cluster, as well as an MBC and a more general use computer used to store target information, positions of friendly and enemy forces as well as target information. Unfortunately, the BMR-PM81-M1 (and the 120-M1) are even more jam-packed than the standard BMR-PM.

*Roof AV is 3; Floor AV is 4.

*The Fire control bonus does not apply to the mortar.