Under the 2018 state defense order the troops continue being equipped with the newest military hardware. Officers of the defense representation panel 3378 have accepted a batch of sixty BTR-82 armored personnel carriers (APC) supplied by the Arzamas Machine Building Plant, the Defense Ministry said.

A BTR-82A during a live demonstration at Army-2018 in Alabino,Russia

"The new combat equipment has been shipped by a military train to the place of distribution to military contingents and units," it said.

The BTR-82A armored personnel carrier is an in-depth upgrade of the BTR-80 and BTR-80A armored personnel carriers in service with the Russian troops, outperforming them in virtually all aspects. It is designed for use by land forces’ motorized rifleman units against armored hardware, air- and waterborne targets and enemy manpower. The BTR-82A  has an essentially higher firing power, agility, protection, and command controllability compared to the serially built family of BTR-80 machines. The firing power was increased by installing an electrically driven combat module with a two-plane digital weapon stabilizer. The module uses, as its main weapon, 2A72 30 mm automatic cannon with a twin PKTM 7.62 mm machinegun placed outside the manned compartment of the vehicle, which precludes noxious fumes inside the vehicle.

The use on the BTR (Bronetransportyor) vehicle of modern digital communications systems and the possibility of installing a topographic orientation instrument combined with the commander’s surveillance unit have improved the controllability of the vehicle. It order to create comfortable conditions in the vehicle for its crew and assault troops and reduce their fatigue on the march and in battle, the BTR-82A is fitted with an air conditioning system. It also creates optimum operating conditions for electronic equipment. Overall, the combat efficiency factor of BTR-82A has doubled as compared to the serially built BTR-80A machine.

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