In Czechoslovakia, a virtue was made of necessity in the 1990s: a hybrid, the OT-90, was constructed from the turrets of obsolete OT-64s and the hulls of the BVP-1 infantry fighting vehicle.
Of the Soviet Union’s satellite states, Czechoslovakia was the one that pursued the most independent arms policy. The ČSSR developed its own weapons and also manufactured a whole range of Soviet combat vehicle types under license. These included the Soviet BMP-1 and BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, both versions of which were produced in the USSR for the needs of its own armed forces and for export. Since acquiring the license in 1966, ZTS Dubnica and PPS Detva have manufactured the BMP infantry fighting vehicle in the Slovakian part of the country. This BMP was and is known in the Czech Republic as the BVP (Bojové Vozidlo Pěchoty). After the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, Czechoslovakia was left with (too) many infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers. In the armored personnel carrier sector, the OT-64 had become obsolete and had to be replaced. The number of BVP infantry fighting vehicles exceeded the upper limit for infantry fighting vehicles specified in disarmament treaties. Infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) were defined as armored personnel carriers that carried an on-board weapon with a calibre greater than 20 millimetres. This was the case for both the BVP-1 (73 millimetre) and the BVP-2 (30 millimetre automatic cannon). Czechoslovakia – or rather its successor states, the Czech Republic and Slovakia – was therefore only allowed to keep a portion. Foreign sales were not possible in large numbers, as there was a large supply of BMP. As a result, a hybrid was built from the turrets of obsolete OT-64s and the fuselages of the BVP-1, the OT-90.
The conversion was carried out by PPS Detva, which also made a number of minor changes that improved the technical quality of the vehicle, but also increased the cost of the conversion. Around 620 vehicles were converted. In the Czech army, the vehicle became known as the “Havluv tygr”, or “Havel’s Tiger”, after the then President Vaclav Havel. The OT-90 was certainly not a real improvement on the BVP-1, but that was not the plan. The commander actually has hardly any options for assigning targets to the gunner in a sensible manner. The single-man turret is an ergonomic disaster, as the gunner has difficulty getting in and out. He has to enter the vehicle through the rear doors, pass through the rear fighting compartment and then crawl into the turret on his knees and hands. But his seat is quite comfortable, if he can sit down on it. When both machine guns are fully ammunitioned, there is hardly any room in the turret. The turret can only be aimed manually and is thinner armored than the original turret of the BVP-1. The resulting weight reduction makes the vehicle even more front-heavy, which has a negative effect on the durability of the chassis. The road speed is the same as the BVP-1 as the engine has been retained, a six-cylinder V-diesel engine UTD-20 with 300 hp. The plus points include a truly impressive off-road capability. https://militaeraktuell.at/steyr-puch-pinzgauer-von-anfang-an-eine-erfolgsgeschichte/ The firepower (one KPVT 14.5 mm caliber machine gun, one PKT 7.62x54R caliber machine gun) may seem sufficient for an armored personnel carrier, but these machine guns could easily have been accommodated in a two-man turret on a wheeled vehicle. In short: The OT-90 is an economically favorable, but not necessarily technically convincing achievement. However, there have been three combat upgrades since 1992. IR searchlights were fitted and additional armor was added. There are several variants (for example the OZ-90 armored ambulance), which were created with the idea of being able to reuse the usable chassis of an unsuccessful tank design. And there was also a small export success: 15 units were exported to Yemen in 2010. At the end of 2007, the Czech armed forces still had 29 OT-90s in their inventory. The reconnaissance platoon of the 72nd Mechanized Battalion was equipped with them. Air defense units also used the vehicle. In the meantime, the Land Rover has replaced the last “Havluv tygr” for the Czechs.
The Slovakian armed forces use small numbers of the OT-90M, which differs from the Czech variants in that it has a different turret. The anti-tank platoons of the fire support companies of all six Slovakian mechanized and motorized battalions are equipped with OT-90Ms, which are armed with the 9M113-Konkurs anti-tank guided missile. With the next wave of modernization, these vehicles will also be decommissioned, which could presumably make the hearts of civilian customers in Western Europe beat faster. A number of OT-90s have already been sold to Great Britain and Germany and are regulars at the British War & Peace Revival. Technical data
Top speed road: 65 km/h
Top speed off-road: 40 km/h
Length 6.74 meters
Width: 2.94 meters
Height: 2.11 meters
Gross weight: 12.5 tons
Driving range road: 750 kilometers
Driving range off-road: 540 kilometers
Trench crossing capability: 2.5 meters
Crew: driver, commander, machine gunner
Dismounting strength: 6 to 8 gunners
Engine power: 221 kW
Maximum torque: 980 Nm
Displacement: 15.9 liters
