Place of origin Yugoslavia Designer VTI | Used by See Operators Number built 565+ | |
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Type Armoured Personnel Carrier Manufacturer TAM
Complex Battle System factory in Velika Plana, Serbia | ||
The BOV (Borbeno Oklopno Vozilo), literally "Combat Armored Vehicle", is an all-wheel drive armoured vehicle manufactured in the former Yugoslavia and today in Serbia.
Contents
Description
The BOV has a capacity of 10, including a driver, gunner and eight infantrymen. The vehicle has a four-wheel drive and is powered by the Deutz type F 6L 413 F six-cylinder diesel engine developing 150 hp (110 kW) at 2650 rpm.
Service history
The BOV was used for internal security and military duties. It was most commonly used by territorial defence units, in several variants equipped with machine guns, water cannons, smoke and tear gas dispensers for crowd control and riots.
BOV has a long combat use on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. At the beginning of the first riots in Slovenia and Croatia military police units of the JNA often used BOVs that have mainly served to protect convoys of the JNA. Also many airplanes were shot down over Croatia by self-propelled guns PSC BOV -3. In Bosnia various modifications such as setting NRZ launchers and machine guns to mount stronger dome. Many BOV armored vehicles were lost mainly due to their weak armor protection. BOVs have also been massively used during the Kosovo conflict by the Army of Yugoslavia and the MUP of Serbia. In combination with T-55 tanks, M-80 infantry fighting vehicles and supported by infantry, mainly the AA version BOV-3 was used to clear villages of members of the KLA .
Today, the BOVs in the Serbian Army are used by the Military Police (BOV M-86), in army mechanized armor battalions (BOV M-83) and in a reserve artillery rocket battalion PVO (BOV-3). BOVs are also used by special forces of the MUP Serbia, Republika Srpska, Croatia and BiH Federation. The Slovenian and Croatian armies used the BOV during peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan.