You had the recent news about the higher power UTD-32T engines for the BMP series.
I also recently heard news of a new version of the YaMZ engine.
I expect them to start producing either Manul or Kurganets in 1-2 years.
They have a shitton of BMP-1 hulls which are totally obsolete. They have to upgrade them somehow. Not just the BMP-2 hulls. If this will be like BMP-1AM or some other configuration we will see.
Kurganets-25 is too expensive for now. At $4 to $5 mil a copy, versus $1.7 for a BMP-3, the difference can buy you a heck of a lot of drones. And that's still way cheaper than a $10 mil a CV-90 or another Western IFV will cost.
Manul would require a brand new hull even if it reuses other BMP-3 components. That will cause an interruption in the production pace right when you need to put more vehicles in the field. Manul will give you the proper rear exit hatch door, but it doesn't seem that important now given that FPV drones know when to wait for the hatch to open.
Instead the BMP-3 is being upgraded in a way it doesn't interrupt the production. That's why they can do the UTD-32 engine. It's a mod from the UTD-29 engine and can skip in easily. The stronger the engine can be, the more armor add one the BMP-3 can take, more and more Turtle Tank. The current add one have already taken a toll on it's performance.
They can also upgrade the BMP-3 with a Berezhok turret or even the Bumerang turret. If you get rid of the 100mm gun, you remove the risk of it's ammo cook off if the vehicle is penetrated. It can also reduce the weight of the vehicle and expand internal space.
However it turns out the 100mm is often used with both direct and indirect shots at fortification and strongholds, and removing the 100mm is a downgrade. That's also resistance to the Kurganets-25.
The BMP-3 is used more like a light tank and a fire support vehicle (FSV) in support of infantry. It's the BTR-82A instead that's the favored battlefield taxi. Costs might be lower than the BMP-3, with the BTR-82A might be coming at $1.4 million a copy. Despite having no rear hatch, the BTR-82A appears to be very popular with the RuAF and is even used aggressively in close combat during a drone free environment.
While the doors of the BTR-82A opens on the side and conventionally is viewed as a mistake, during drone warfare, it has its points. A drone waiting to ambush troops usually swoops in at the rear hatch as the hatch opens. But if the doors open at the side, the drone has to pick which side. If the drone attacks one side, the troops escaping on the other gets free. Doors to the side also means the shortest line ducking to the bushes at the side of the road for cover.
With the BTR-82A, which is currently at the AT variant with thermals and ATGM support, there seems to be of a need for the Manul and Kurganets-25 at the moment.
The wheels on the BTR-82A is also quieter than using a tracked vehicle which helps with stealthy assaults. That's also a plus for the Stryker over the Bradley.
The big wheels of the BTR-82A also helps with floatation over mud along with its lighter weight. Over the Ukrainian black earth, floatation is life. I have seen too many Russian and Ukrainian vehicles stuck in the mud, forcibly being abandoned, captured or scuttled by drones. I also would think the wheels are easier and faster to repair over tracks.
Basically Manul is a better bus over the BMP-3 but the bus function is already being taken up by the BTRs. As a light tank and FSV, the Manul isn't going to be significantly better than a BMP-3.
The Russian Army has another battle bus besides that's growing in number and that's the Typhoon-K. Add to the tactics of using motorcycles and ATVs, there's less of a pressing need for another bus with a rear hatch. Once again, Typhoon-K, motorcycles and ATVs are rubber wheeled, helpful with stealth assaults that's becoming the norm these days.
As for the BMP-1, the approved upgrade is the BMP-1AM, which is the BMP-1 using the turret from the BTR-82A. Unlike the Ukrainian Army, I just don't see the generic BMP-1 with the original 76mm gun still being used. Every BMP-1 in the Russian Army has the turret upgrade. The problem is that it shares this turret with the BTR-82A and as hulls of the BTR-82A being scaled up, every one of these turrets are likely to go on top of the BTR-82A which is prioritized. You would need to scale production of the turret to the point there is enough surplus that can go to upgrading BMP-1s.
As for the BMP-2M, the Berezhok appears to have its own production line and it's not sharing the turret with anyone. The vehicle is popular with the Russian Army, and there's even pressure to restart it's production. However restarting it will cause a disruption on BMP-3 production, and for the same reasons as Manul, it's not going to happen. Should note within this week, a tank division assigned to the Moscow region were given a new batch of BMP-2M.
There's some talk about the BTR-87 proposal having some interest. This is like the BTR-82A but with a new hull with the engine in front and rear hatches, but I also think it's not going to happen.
Russian defense industry is in a state of hyper optimization under Belousov that reminds me of the German wartime industry under Albert Speer. Here you focus on a handful of key platforms and toss away the rest---like with the Germans, the BF-109, FW-190, Panzer Mk. 4, where peak production was still achieved even with Allied bombing. It appears the BMP-3 is one of these platforms for the Russians along with the BTR-82A, T-90M, T-80BVM, MSTA-S, 2S43/44, Tornado-K and so on.