Russia's Military Industrial Company (Voyenno-Promishlennaya Kompaniya, VPK) is testing its cutting-edge Bumerang (Boomerang) wheeled armored fighting vehicle (AFV), according to Sergey Suvorov, the head of marketing at VPK.

Bumerang K-17 8x8 IFV Infantry Fighting Vehicle at the International Military Technical Forum near Moscow, Russia in August 2017 (Picture source Army Recognition)

Suvorov said that the Bumerang is passing tests in accordance with schedule. Once the revealed drawbacks have been fixed, the state trials will start.

He pointed out that the Bumerang family now comprises two vehicles, namely the K-17 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) and the K-16 armored personnel carrier (APC). He did not rule out the possibility of development of new Bumerang-based systems, including an armored recovery vehicle, a command-and-control (C2) post, a self-propelled anti-tank system, reconnaissance vehicles and other systems upon request.

The Boomerang or Bumerang is a new development of 8x8 armoured vehicle personnel carrier launched by the Russian defense industry to replace the old BTR family of wheeled armoured used by the Russian armed forces. In April 2015, the Boomerang was showed for the first time to the public during the rehearsal of Victory Day military parade in Alabino testing range, near Moscow.

The Bumerang K-17 is equipped with an electrically powered unmanned turret mounted in the centre of the hull. The turret is armed with the 2A42 30mm automatic cannon. A 7.62mm coaxial PKT machine gun is mounted to the left side of the main armament. Two launchers of anti-tank guided missile Kornet-EM are mounted on each side of the turret.

The K-16 is the Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) in the Bumerang family which is equipped with a small unmanned turret featuring a sensor array and a 12.7 mm machine gun.