Moscow Appears to Refurbish Shturm-S ATGMs for Use as APCs

Russian forces have stepped up work to restore preserved 9P149 Shturm-S anti-tank missile systems based on MT-LB tracked chassis that have long been stored at the Muromteplovoz plant.

The activity was reported on X by user Jompy, who cited satellite imagery.

He said movement of hulls around the plant was recorded for the first time in years.

Most of the equipment on the company’s sites appears to be MT-LB chassis from 9P149 Shturm-S vehicles.

Something interesting wrt stored MT-LBs. Muromteplovoz Zavod, the factory in charge of refurbing these armored vehicles, has finally seen some movement at its yards after many years pic.twitter.com/px1qZa9dba

— Jompy (@Jonpy99) October 12, 2025

It is likely the Russians do not intend to return these vehicles to their original ATGM role but will instead convert MT-LBs into armored personnel carriers.

Earlier, the tractors were often turned into makeshift APCs by removing the troop compartment cover and adding structures to increase internal volume.

Given the shortage of conventional armored vehicles, that practice is likely to continue.

Russian forces also use these chassis for a range of weapon systems, including 9K55 Grad-1 multiple-launch rocket systems and A-22 Ogon shipboard flamethrower-incendiary mounts.

As a result, they have suffered significant losses of this equipment. According to the ORYX database, at least 1,119 vehicles were destroyed, 78 abandoned and 147 captured.

The enemy also lost at least 241 vehicles in MT-LBVM and MT-LBVMK configurations.

Jompy notes the Russians have restored or cannibalized about 3,000 of these vehicles.

His figures show roughly 600 MT-LBs in various versions remain in storage.