BTR-82A 8x8 infantry fighting vehicle - Program
The Russian Army put into service the BTR-82A amphibious armored personnel carrier in February 2013. While the US military is only thinking about how best to ramp up the combat efficiency of its IFVs, Russia is already testing its modernized armored vehicles, which are capable of engaging the enemy at any time of day or night without any additional support. In addition to the BTR-82A, Russia also has the BMP-3 amphibious IFV; its powerful 100mm cannon and 30mm chain gun can effectively engage a whole enemy battalion. In terms of export supplies, the BTR-82A is able to successfully compete with the French-made armored personnel carrier that is 7 tons heavier and has a not-so-sophisticated armament.
The Military Industrial Company had developed the APC in close cooperation with the Russian Defence Ministry under the BTR-80 and BTR-80A heavy upgrade program. Devising the program, the designers took into account all of the customer’s proposals and requirements stemming from the scrutiny of the lessons learnt from the operation and tactical use of the APCs. Although the advanced APC looks similar to its predecessor, the BTR-80A, it is very different. The upgrade program was aimed at a comprehensive improvement in the vehicle’s performance, firepower, agility, protection, responsiveness, reliability, manufacturability and maintainability.
Owing to the measures taken, the BTR-82A’s combat effectiveness ratio doubled over that of the BTR-80A. As far as its combat effectiveness indices are concerned, the wheeled BTR-82A can do in battle what has been done by the tracked BMP-1 and BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), which use by the Ministry’s of Interior units is limited specifically due to their tracked running gear. The wheeled BTR-82A is the best and only alternative to the tracked IFVs in service with the Interior Force and special operators of the Ministry of Interior. During the APC’s 2011 demonstration, Gen. Davlatnazar Bulbulshoyev, with the Tajik Ministry of Interior, said: “The demonstration of the BTR-82A’s capabilities has been the true spice of the Krasnoarmeisk show, and the BTR-82A became the star of the event”.
According to independent observers from the company's Armament Research Services BTR-82AM used in the East of Ukraine on the side of the self-proclaimed republics. It was reported on the destruction of one of them near the village Novosvitlivka Lugansk region. Ukrainian Defense Minister Valery Geleta accused the Russian Federation in the supply of this type of technology in the conflict zone.
At the end of August 2015 the Syrian army released video of the BTR-82A. Coating of the machines was used in line with the Russian army. Observers suggest that the machines were taken from Russian military stockpiles and taken to Syria, the Russian large landing ship "Nikolai Phylchenkov".
Prototypes of the BTR-82 and BTR-82A were collected in December 2009 on the Arzamas Machine-Building Plant (AMZ). The tests were cars in the winter of 2010, after which they were adopted. In 2011, the BTR-82A were rearmed with some parts of the Southern Military District. BTR-82A was first supplied to the Russian Defense Ministry in 2011.
The Russian military base located in Tajikistan will receive about 100 armored personnel carriers. The APC will replace the out-of-date equipment. The procurements from the Arzamas Machinery Plant will be carried out according to the State Defence Order. Commanders and their deputies have been sent for reeducation to the Central MD military units located in Samara Region where BTR-82A has been used since the last year.
The peacekeeping brigade of the Central Military District / CVO / would receive in 2013 this year to 150 new BTR-82A, Assistant District Commander Colonel Jaroslav Roshupkin told ITAR-TASS 29 May 2013. "In 2013, the CVO peacekeeping brigade stationed in Samara region, will receive about 150 recently taken into service BTR-82A production Arzamas Engineering Plant Delivery will take place in accordance with the plan of implementation of the state defense order.", - He said.
Russia's Kommersant daily newspaper said on 11 September 2015 that Moscow's advanced BTR-82A armoured personnel carriers were among arms supplied to Damascus. Moscow has previously insisted in public that its flights to Syria were only for humanitarian purposes. Al Jazeera's Peter Sharp, reporting from Moscow, said that nothing has changed and the Russians have been supplying the Syrian government for years now.
In October 2015 the arms of the 45th separate brigade of special purpose airborne Russian troops began to acquire the newest armored personnel carriers - BTR-82A. In addition, Special Forces Airborne received light armored mobile means for movement on unfamiliar terrain. This technique should be adapted for air transport and to ensure the action of special forces units, including the landing of the aircraft.
On 19 October 2015 Russia agreed to supply Belarus 32 BTR-82A. The agreement was signed at the exhibition Russia Arms Expo - 2015 which was held in Nizhny Tagil in September. The fact of the transaction Tass confirmed in the Belarusian Armed Forces, without specifying the amount of the contract.
On 10 April 2016 the Russian Defense Ministry signed a contract for the delivery of another batch of BTR-82A, the press service of the administration and the military department information reported. "Within the framework of the state defense order of the Russian Federation Ministry of Defence and the company" Military-Industrial Company "we signed a contract for the supply of another production batch of BTR-82A", - said in a statement. In accordance with the terms of the contract before the end of this year, in the interests of the Russian Defense Ministry will be transferred to the 20 new BTR-82A.
More than 100 new BTR-82AM will go into service in the Western Military District before the end of 2016, according to the district's press service. "The latest BTR-82AM will go on combined arms infantry division combining the Western Military District, stationed in the Voronezh, Belgorod and Bryansk regions", - said in a statement received 10 October 2016 at TASS. As explained TASS in the press service, armored vehicles arrive at the county adopted before the end of this year.
By 2020 work was underway to create a new combat reconnaissance vehicle based on the BTR-82 - the Mars-2000 BRM. In addition, an option was being worked out to create the Sosna short-range self-propelled anti-aircraft missile system based on the BTR-82. Special vehicles were also being created on the basis of BTR-82. One of these developments was the Typhoon-M combat anti-sabotage vehicle, created on the basis of the BTR-82 at Strela NPO. It is designed to protect mobile missile systems of the Strategic Missile Forces. As new types of weapons or special equipment appear and, if necessary, create wheeled versions, the base of the BTR-82 armored personnel carrier will be in demand, which, unlike other armored wheeled chassis, can swim across water obstacles. However, VPK LLC was not talking about the use of the BTR-82 chassis when creating civilian wheeled vehicles. The creation of civilian vehicles based on the BTR-82 was not yet considered: the BTR-80 base was quite up to the task here. If it becomes necessary to create a civilian vehicle based on the BTR-82, VPK will do it.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
