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Belarus Fields BTR-V2 8x8 Armored Personnel Carrier With Enhanced Protection And Firepower.
Belarus has delivered the first serial batch of its new BTR V2 8x8 armored personnel carrier to the 120th Separate Mechanized Brigade in Minsk, marking the vehicle’s formal entry into service. The move indicates Belarus is shifting from trials to frontline deployment, a change that matters for regional force balance near NATO’s eastern flank.
On November 24, 2025, Belarusian troops of the 120th Separate Mechanized Brigade in Minsk received the first serial batch of BTR-V2 armored personnel carriers, marking the operational debut of the country’s new 8×8 APC family, as reported by the @imamilitary Telegram channel. The deliveries put into regular service the Volat V-2, Belarus’s first domestically developed 8×8 armored personnel carrier, initially presented at the MILEX-2021 defense exhibition in Minsk. Developed by the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant (MZKT) under the factory index MZKT-690003, the BTR-V2 is intended to progressively replace Soviet-era BTR-70/80 and BMP-1/2 vehicles and to reduce reliance on imported Russian platforms. Its arrival in a key mechanized brigade deployed around the capital signals that Belarus is moving from prototype trials to unit-level fielding at a moment of sustained tension with NATO along the eastern flank. For neighboring NATO members, seeing a better-protected and better-armed APC enter Belarusian service is one more incremental adjustment in the local balance of land forces around the Suwałki corridor.
Belarus has begun fielding the 8x8 BTR-V2 armored personnel carrier, featuring advanced protection, firepower, and amphibious capabilities for modern mechanized forces (Picture Source: Telegram Account/imamilitary)
The BTR-V2 in its current serial configuration is a heavy 8×8 armored personnel carrier built around a front-engine layout, a central crew compartment and a rear troop section accessed via a powered ramp, with seating for eight dismounts in addition to a three-person crew. The hull is welded steel with bolt-on armor kits, bringing ballistic protection in the frontal arc up to the Br5 level and the sides to Br4, which corresponds broadly to protection against heavy machine-gun fire and fragments in accordance with Belarusian standards. Compared with the earlier prototype shown in 2021, the addition of extra armor has increased combat weight by about 2.5 tonnes to roughly 24.5 tonnes, and the operating range has dropped by some 300 km, to around 900 km on roads, but mobility remains high thanks to a 550 hp WP13.550A0 inline six-cylinder diesel coupled to a hydromechanical six-speed transmission and a two-speed transfer case. Independent hydropneumatic suspension, run-flat tires and a central tire-pressure regulation system support cross-country performance, while dual water-jets give the vehicle amphibious capability at around 10 km/h afloat. The defining feature of the BTR-V2 delivered to the 120th Brigade is its Adunok-BM30.2 remotely operated combat module, which replaces the earlier manned BMP-2 turret. This station mounts a 30 mm 2A42 automatic cannon, a coaxial 7.62 mm PKT machine gun and external launch rails for Konkurs anti-tank guided missiles, typically carried in pairs, together with a modern fire-control suite including a thermal imager, daytime TV camera, laser rangefinder and digital ballistic computer. Stabilization in two axes allows effective fire on the move, and the combination of 30 mm gun and Konkurs missiles gives the APC credible lethality against infantry, light armor and, under favorable conditions, main battle tanks at several kilometers’ distance.
The initial serial production of the BTR-V2 APC reflects the extended and determined effort behind Belarus’s ground forces modernization. The Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant (MZKT) began designing an indigenous wheeled armored carrier in the late 2000s through the Umka project (MZKT-590100), in collaboration with Russian partners. However, progress stalled in the early 2010s due to lack of state funding and a formal procurement decision. The program was revived in the latter half of the decade with stronger support from the Ministry of Defense, resulting in the MZKT-690003 Volat V-2, publicly unveiled at the MILEX-2021 defense exhibition. Since then, the vehicle has undergone comprehensive factory and state trials, including enhancements to its structure, armor, and armament, transitioning from a BMP-2 turret to the Adunok-BM30.2 remote weapon station. Official adoption occurred in mid-2025 following completion of state testing. Notably, the Volat V-2 is the first fully designed and manufactured 8×8 APC in Belarus, entering service under the BTR-V2 designation to fulfill troop transport and fire support missions. The decision to assign initial serial vehicles to the 120th Separate Mechanized Brigade near Minsk indicates an intent to validate the platform within a high-readiness unit before considering wider fleet replacement or potential export prospects.
Compared with the armored personnel carriers that still dominate the Belarusian inventory, the BTR-V2 is a generational shift. Belarus inherited and continues to operate Soviet-designed BTR-70s and BTR-80s, some upgraded to the BTR-70MB1 standard with improved engines and side doors, as well as more recent Russian-supplied BTR-82A vehicles. The classic BTR-80, weighing around 13.5 tonnes with a 260 hp engine, carries a 14.5 mm heavy machine gun and a coaxial 7.62 mm gun in a small turret, with thin armor and limited mine protection and relies on side doors for troop egress. By contrast, the heavier BTR-V2 nearly doubles installed engine power and adds a rear ramp, internal blast-attenuating seats, mine protection broadly comparable to STANAG 4569 level 2a/2b and integrated NBC filtration, which collectively improve crew survivability and ergonomics. Firepower is also significantly enhanced: the 30 mm cannon offers higher penetration and a wider range of programmable or armor-piercing ammunition compared with the older 14.5 mm machine gun, while the integration of Konkurs guided missiles extends effective anti-armor reach beyond 3–4 km, a capability absent on standard BTR-70/80s and even on many BTR-82A variants. In this sense, the BTR-V2 moves Belarusian wheeled infantry carriers closer to Western 8×8 vehicles such as the Patria AMV or Boxer in concept, though it still lacks some features seen on the latest NATO platforms, such as active protection systems, modular composite armor packages and fully digital open architectures.
Strategically, the introduction of the BTR‑V2 does not fundamentally alter the overall balance between Belarus, alongside Russia, and NATO. However, it does modestly narrow qualitative disparities that have been widening for years. Assessments of Belarus’s armored inventory have consistently highlighted its reliance on aging T‑72B and BMP‑2 platforms, as well as legacy BTR variants, at a time when Poland, Lithuania, and other NATO members are investing in advanced K2PL and M1A2 main battle tanks, modern 8×8 infantry fighting vehicles, and integrated command‑and‑control systems. By fielding a domestically developed APC with improved protection and firepower, Minsk reduces exposure to fluctuations in Russian supply and sanctions pressure on Moscow’s defense industry, while demonstrating that its own industrial base is capable of producing complex wheeled combat vehicles at scale. Operationally, equipping units around Minsk with a mobile, amphibious 8×8 platform enhances maneuverability across Belarus’s river‑dense terrain and supports rapid deployments along critical axes for Russian‑Belarusian planning, notably toward the Suwałki corridor linking Belarus to Kaliningrad and toward Ukraine’s northern frontier. For NATO planners, the key implication is that Belarusian mechanized forces, if deployed alongside Russian units, will increasingly operate with vehicles offering protection and lethality closer to contemporary standards, complicating assumptions based on the performance of older BTR‑70/80 systems.
The handover of the first serial BTR-V2s to the 120th Separate Mechanized Brigade marks a concrete step in Belarus’s long-discussed effort to move away from purely Soviet-era armored vehicles and towards a national family of wheeled combat platforms. The numbers involved so far are likely modest and will not immediately alter the order of battle, but they provide MZKT and the Belarusian army with essential feedback on maintenance, training and integration into combined-arms formations. How quickly Minsk scales up production, whether other brigades are re-equipped and whether export customers show interest will determine if the BTR-V2 becomes a niche asset or the backbone of Belarusian mechanized infantry. For now, the appearance of these vehicles in a frontline unit around Minsk is an unmistakable signal that Belarus is intent on quietly upgrading the teeth of its ground forces, and that NATO observers will need to track not only Russian but also Belarusian industrial contributions to the evolving military balance on the alliance’s northeastern flank.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.