A TKB-799 Kliver turret.
The 'Kliver' (Cleaver) turret was a Russian turret created in the mid-1990s for the export market. At the time, the Russian economy was struggling after the Fall of the Soviet Union. As such, the Russian Ground Forces were not able to update their equipment, leaving Russian design bureaus with few customers domestically. In order to keep their bureaus busy, many companies turned to the export market, offering modern upgrades for countries operating Soviet / Russian vehicles. Among these design bureaus was the KBP Instrument Design Bureau, who had created some of the most iconic military equipment of the USSR, including the ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun, 9M113 anti-tank missile, and the GSh-23 used on numerous aircraft.
During this period, work began at KBP to create a turret featuring one of their new anti-tank guided missile designs, the 9M133 'Kornet'. It was completed and showcased publicly in 1996. The idea behind the Kliver was to offer an upgrade for existing chassis. For example, instead of a 14.5mm machine gun on a BTR-80, the Kliver could replace it with a 30mm 2A72 autocannon, 7.62mm PKT machine gun, and four 9M133 Kornet anti-tank guided missiles. The turret also featured thermal imaging and stabilization for the gunner, two key aspects of acquiring and staying on targets. KBP did just this, with the first vehicle fitted with the turret being a BTR-80 in 1996.
The BTR-80 fitted with the Kliver turret.
While the turret could be fitted to a number of vehicles due to its light weight of 1,500 kg and adjustable ring diameter, the Kliver was designed with the intent to mount it on the BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle in mind. This could be done with no modifications to the hull, simply replacing the turret was enough. A BMP-1 with Kliver turret prototypes was showcased at the International Defence Exhibition, IDEX, in 1997 and 1999, with KBP's engineers rather boldly claiming the turret to be superior to existing Russian, American, and German designs, notably the M2/M3 Bradley and Marder 1. This wasn't terribly far off from the truth, since the 9M133 Kornet and 30mm 2A72 were very modern and capable weapons.
A BMP-1 fitted with the Kliver turret at IDEX 97 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
With all this being said, one might assume the turret was successful and would see use by other countries. Unfortunately for KBP, the Kliver turret, for all its features, did not see any orders. It also didn't fix issues with the hulls it was being mounted to. The BMP-1, for example, is notorious for being cramped and poorly armored. The Russian military never gave it a chance either due to the aforementioned economic issues.
