MLI-84

The MLI-84 is a native-made Romanian armored personnel carrier currently in service with the Romanian Land Forces. It is basically a stock BMP-1 with a lengthened hull and a 12.7×108mm DShK 1938/46 heavy machine gun mounted on the roof of the troop compartment.

Development history

In 1982 Romania purchased a license to produce 178 BMP-1 IFVs from USSR. At the same time it received permission to modify the construction in order to adapt it to its industry.

The decision of improving the old Soviet IFVs came in 1995. As a result of Romanian-Israeli cooperation project the new modernized MLI-84M variant was created. Since then, the Romanian Ministry of Defense spent over US$ 155 million to upgrade 99 vehicles.

Description

The most important improvement in the MLI-84 was the replacement of the UTD-20 (a 6-cylinder 4-stroke V-shaped airless-injection water-cooled multifuel 15.8-litre diesel engine) with the 8V-1240-DT-S 8-cylinder 4-stroke V-shaped liquid-cooled diesel engine developed in Romania. The new engine is more powerful as it develops 355 hp (265 kW) but it is heavier and bigger and because of that the engine compartment had to be rebuilt in order to fit the new engine. The fuel capacity was increased to 600 liters. Because of these modifications the length of the hull of the vehicle was increased by 60 cm (7.335 m) which in turn resulted in wider gaps between the roadwheels. The vehicle is also wider (3.15 m) and higher (2.11 m). The ground clearance has increased from 370 mm to 400 mm. The new engine has increased vehicle's maximal road speed to 70 km/h.