 Russia boosts BMP-3 production on eve of Ukrainian counteroffensive. Russia has drastically ramped up the production of the BMP-3, its main armored infantry support vehicle, the state-run defense corporation Rostek said. The news comes as Ukraine is preparing for the much-touted counteroffensive. Rostek, which oversees defense production, said the Kurgan-Mashabod plant to the east of the Ural Mountains manufactured as many infantry fighting vehicles in the first quarter of 2023 as it did throughout the whole of 2019. Developed by Rostek as the Queen of Infantry, the BMP-3 was designed in the 1980s and has since become one of Russia's main vehicles used to both transport soldiers and support them with firepower. The tracked vehicle can operate on difficult terrain and cross waterways. It is armed with a 30-millimeter gun and anti-armor rockets. The Kurgan-Mashabod is transferring infantry fighting vehicles practically every month, and the number of deliveries is growing. Bakhan Ostoyev, Rostek's director for weapons and ammunition, said in a statement.