Commanders!
For this year’s Tank Crew day, we’ve prepared a brand-new skin for one of the more popular AFVs in the game – the Tier 7 BMD-2M. The skin is called “Akula.”
BMD-2M
Since it has been popularized by Tom Clancy’s submarine novels, you are probably familiar with this word and know that it means “Shark” in Russian. It’s this name that’s inscribed on the upper frontal hull of this BMD-2M, right above a large teethed mouth. Indeed, the formidable BMD-2M truly bares its fangs with this skin.
The skin comes with a very common modern Russian camouflage consisting of green, sand and black spots. Tactical markings are also present – a triangle with a number 3 in it belongs to the 98th Guards Airborne Division stationed at Ivanovo (roughly 250km from Moscow). The 98th Guards Airborne Division is a famous Russian VDV (Airborne) unit that fought in numerous conflicts of Soviet and Russian history, having started as the 98th Guards Rifle Division as early as 1943. It was also deployed in Afghanistan and both Chechen wars.
The skin isn’t completely historical – the number and tactical markings are based on a BMD-2 deployed as a part of a peacekeeping force in Kazakhstan since the unit was a part of the contingent sent (upon the request of Kazakhstan’s president) to suppress mass riots that took place in the January of 2022. The VDV forces were used as guards of critical infrastructure and did not participate in the suppression of the riots.
To keep the VDV theme going, we’ll also have a special Russian Airborne camouflage for you. This camouflage is more like a coat of white paint applied over the standard camouflage (the one used on the Akula skin) and was used by the 98th Guards Airborne Division in 2014 during an arctic exercise. We’ll also have some decals for you, including:
- 98th Guards Airborne Division tactical emblem
- Emblem of the VDV
- Scorpion decal used on BMD-2 trials in Afghanistan
We hope that you’ll enjoy this content, and, as always:
See you on the battlefield!
