VPK-7829 Bumerang (Boomerang) is an 8x8 amphibious armoured personnel carrier, being the newest and most modern Russian vehicle of its kind.

Designed by Military Industrial Company LLC (VPK) and manufactured by Arzamas Machine-Building Plant, the Bumerang 8x8 represents a turning point in Russian wheeled armoured fighting vehicles design.

The new Russian Bumerang 8x8 APC is a truly modern armoured personnel carrier, on the same level of the newest Western counterparts.

Russian Army was in need of a totally new modern armoured personnel carrier with an improved level of protection since the BTR-82 was only a stop-gap variant.

Along with the Armata Universal Combat Platform, Russia also started the development of a new wheeled 8x8 armoured vehicle comparable in performance with the latest Western designs.

Thus, VPK-7829 Bumerang was born, a truly modern amphibious armoured personnel carrier intended to replace the old BTR series of wheeled armoured personnel carriers in the Russian Army.

The infantry fighting vehicle variant of the Bumerang 8x8 reaches a maximum mass of 34 tons.

The crew consists of three members including the driver, the gunner, and the commander. It can accommodate seven to eight passengers and the access inside the vehicle is made through the rear doors and the roof hatches.

Boomerang 8x8 armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) comes in two main variants: an armoured personnel carrier (APC) variant and an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) variant equipped with a remote weapon station.

- VPK-7829 Bumerang 8x8 APC: the standard armoured personnel carrier (APC) version;
- VPK-7829 Bumerang 8x8 IFV: the infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) version of the Bumerang equipped with a remote weapon station.

The Bumerang 8x8 armoured personnel carrier (APC) variant is equipped with a remote turret fitted with a 12.7 mm machine gun.

The Bumerang 8x8 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) variant has greater firepower and also comes in two variants.

The first of them is equipped with the Bumerang-BM remotely controlled turret, the same installed on the tracked IFV/APC Kurganets-25 and on the T-15 Armata heavy infantry fighting vehicle.

Bumerang-BM remote weapon station is fitted with the 2A42 30 mm autocannon with 500 rounds.

Of the total of the 500 rounds, 160 are armour-piercing (AP) shells, and the rest of 340 are high-explosive (HE) shells.

Additionally, four 9M133 Kornet-EM anti-tank missile launchers are also instaled on the turret, two of them on each side. This gives the Bumerang 8x8 IFV the possibility to engage and destroy tanks on the battlefield.

As secondary armament, it has a 7.62 mm PKT coaxial machine gun.

The second Bumerang 8x8 IFV variant comes with the AU-220M Baikal remote weapon station armed with the impressive 57 mm BM-57 autocannon and with a 7.62 mm calibre PKMT machine gun.

VPK-7829 Bumerang 8x8 has an all-welded steel hull with additional add-on ceramic armour modules.

The 8x8 wheeled Boomerang APC/IFV is powered by a 510 hp BarnaulTransMash UTD-32TR turbocharged diesel engine.

The UTD-32TR engine is located in the front of the vehicle, and not in the rear like in the old BTR series of armoured personnel carriers.

The standard variant of the Bumerang is amphibiously capable, being able to propel itself into the water using two waterjets.

VPK-7829 Boomerang has an operational range of 800 km (500 mi) and can reach a speed of 100 km/h (62 mph) on road.

See below a list of 8x8 armoured personnel carriers similar to the Russian Bumerang 8x8:

GTK Boxer 8x8 - a German wheeled armoured personnel carrier with interchangeable mission modules;
Eitan 8x8 - a new wheeled armoured personnel carrier developed for the Israeli Ground Forces;
Mowag-GDELS Pirahna 5 8x8 - a heavy wheeled infantry fighting vehicle in service with Denmark, Romania, and Spain;
BAE ACV 1.1 8x8 - a new amphibious armoured personnel carrier developed for the US Marine Corps;
Patria AMV 8x8 - a Finnish wheeled armoured personnel carrier widely exported;
Iveco SuperAV 8x8 - an Italian wheeled armoured personnel carrier from which the BAE Systems ACV 1.1 was developed;
AGILIS 8x8 - a Romanian-German project to develop an amphibious armoured personnel carrier for the Romanian Army.

See below how the Bumerang 8x8 compares against other modern armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles:

Bumerang 8x8 vs Boxer
Bumerang 8x8 vs BAE ACV 1.1
Bumerang 8x8 vs Patria AMV
Bumerang 8x8 vs Iveco SuperAV
Bumerang 8x8 vs AGILIS 8x8
Bumerang 8x8 vs Piranha 5
Bumerang 8x8 vs Eitan AFV