BMD stands for Boyevaya Mashina Desanta (Боевая Машина Десанта, which literally translates to "Airborne Combat Vehicle").

They were both armed with a 73 mm 2A28 Grom low-pressure smoothbore short-recoil semi-automatic gun, a 9S428 ATGM launcher capable of firing the 9M14 Malyutka, the 9M14M Malyutka-M and the 9M14P Malyutka-P ATGMs and a coaxial 7.62 mm PKT machine gun.

This armament was effective against soft targets such as unarmoured vehicles, infantry, and lightly fortified positions, but was not effective in the anti-tank role, and suffered in mountainous terrain due to the low elevation angle of the main gun.

The Soviet airborne forces command decided to arm their units with similar vehicles.

The first was supposed to satisfy the immediate need for a new airborne IFV by modifying the BMD-1/BMP-1 turret, arming it with the same armament as the one on the BMP-2 and then fitting it onto the BMD-1 hull.

Another gunner's sight is located on the left hand side of the main gun and moves in vertical planes along with it.

[citation needed] The main gun can be elevated or depressed between 85° and −5° and can be used to fire at air targets.

[5] As soon as the rods touch the ground a retrorocket fires, slowing the BMD to a descending speed between 6 m/s and 7 m/s and giving it a relatively soft landing.

The design was made in order to save necessary weight, and sacrifices crew comfort.

It can carry five infantrymen, including the vehicle commander, bow machine gunner and three soldiers seated behind the turret.

BMD-2’s were employed by the Russian 234th Airborne Assault Regiment in the Russo-Georgian War in 2008, with one being lost in action.

During the war in Donbas, BMD-2s were used by units of the Ukrainian Airmobile Forces, and by separatists of Novorossiya.

[9] After Russian forces failed to capture Kyiv, British journalist Mark Urban suggested the BMD-2 and other "armoured vehicles designed to be light enough to be carried on planes do not give much protection from enemy fire.

"[9] As of 6 February 2025, the open-source intelligence site, Oryx has visually confirmed the loss of 360 Russian BMD-2s (276 destroyed, 7 damaged, 22 abandoned and 55 captured).