A BTR-82 armored personnel carrier will get additional armor protection against shaped charge shells and projectiles after it is modernized to a BTR-82AT level, Alexander Krasovitsky, director-general of the Military Industrial Company (VPK), which manufactures BTR-82s, said.

BTR-82AT displayed by VPK at Army-2019 defense exhibition (Picture source: Army Recognition)

"Today, BTR-82AT has two fairly serious novelties: a thermal imaging sight, which has just undergone tests, and slat armor, which will make the APC a little bit heavier," Krasovitsky said when asked about the BTR-82AT upgrade. He noted that the new vehicle was undergoing trials now. "We are holding trials. We have made the final changes to our present BTR-82AT. We have mounted a thermal imaging sight thanks to which the vehicle operates well at night. Besides, special buffers protect the APC against rocket-propelled grenades," Krasovitsky said.

The Military Industrial Company, Krasovitsky went on to say, has been executing the state defense order ahead of schedule for the past four years. "Hopefully, we will do the same this year despite all the odds," he said.

BTR-82AT is a modification of a serial BTR-82A armored personnel carrier that is fitted out with extra slat armor and grids, a combined two-way thermal imaging sight and the Kornet anti-tank missiles deployed in the landing compartment. The vehicle was demonstrated to the public at the Army-2019 International Military-Technical Forum.

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