Russia to offer an upgraded version of the BTR-70 Armoured Personnel Carrier to foreign customers TASS 52408162

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Russia to offer an upgraded version of the BTR-70 Armoured Personnel Carrier to foreign customers
Russia is offering the upgraded BTR-70 armoured personnel carriers (APC), called BTR-70M (M stands for Upgraded, Modernizirovanny) to foreign customers, according to a source in the Russian defense industry.
     
     
"Despite its age, BTR-70 remains in high demand on the global arms market, as it has good cost-effectiveness ratio. BTR-70 is a relatively inexpensive light armoured vehicle being able to transport troops and to provide firepower and protection on the modern battlefield. The upgrade brings the basic specifications of the BTR-70 APC to the level of BTR-80. The countries of the post-Soviet area have huge numbers of BTR-70 carriers in their arsenals. The upgrade kit allows drastic increasing of the APC's situational awareness and firepower. BTR-70M is highly demanded by the former members of the Soviet Union that are facing the terroristic threat, such as Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan," the source said.

Russia's Ministry of Defense (MoD) ceased the upgrade of the ageing BTR-70 carriers to the BTR-70M level several years ago. However, the indigenous defense industry is continuing the modernization of the BTR-70 vehicles being supplied to other countries. Moscow is known to have supplied BTR-70M APCs to Mongolia, Nicaragua, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan under various military aid programs.

According to the notifications published on the official acquisitions website, JSC 81st Armour Repairing Plant (Russian acronym: BTRZ, Bronetankovy Remontnyi Zavod) will deliver BTR-70M APCs to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan (probably as a part of Russia's military aid to these countries). The company has ordered from JSC Oboronsoft a batch of the UKM-1B-BTR-70M simulators intended for the training of technicians to maintain and overhaul BTR-70M carriers. The simulators are planned to be delivered to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. In 2015-2016, the plant acquired 60 KRPTs 61400.003SB-07 information-navigational systems for the Kyrgyz BTR-70M APCs and 26 systems for the Tajik ones.
     
     
In early August 2016, the 81st BTRZ signed the contract with the Volga-Dnepr Company for the transportation of overhauled BTR-70M carriers to the states of the Central Asian region. In accordance with the agreement, two batch of carriers (each of eight vehicles) will be delivered to Dushanbe (Tajikistan) in August and November 2016, respectively. Tajik military and law enforcement agencies are reported to have already received about 10 BTR-70M APCs.

The Volga-Dnepr company will also conduct five flights to Kyrgyzstan to deliver the BTR-70M armoured vehicles. In November 2016, 16 BTR-70M APCs will be delivered to Bishkek. Kyrgyzstan will get the remaining 20 carriers in the first half of 2017. The country is reported to have already received 24 BTR-70M armoured vehicles.

The BTR-70M APC has received a KAMAZ-740.3 diesel engine instead of two ZMZ-4905 engines, new transmission components, the BTR-80 manned turret armed with a KPVT heavy machinegun and a Kalashnikov PKT coaxial machinegun, the 1PZ-7 and TVNE-4B optical sights, and the TKN-3 sighting system with integrated night vision googles. Such variant of upgrade allows bringing of the vehicle`s combat effectiveness to the level of the BTR-80 armoured personnel carrier through relatively low cost.

Despite its weak armour protection, a BTR-70M is a valuable combat asset. It is an easy-to-maintain and reliable vehicle armed with a heavy machinegun that can destroy light armoured vehicles, sport utility vehicles (SUV) armed with DShK/NSVT machineguns or recoilless guns, and enemy`s manpower.

According to the Military Balance 2016 report issued by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Kyrgyz Armed Forces operate 150 T-72A main battle tanks (MBT), 30 BRDM-2 armoured reconnaissance vehicles (ARV), 230 BMP-1 and 90 BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), and 25 BTR-70, 24 BTR-70M, and 10 BTR-80 APCs. At the same time, the Armed Forces of Tajikistan have deployed 30 T-72A and 7 T-62 MBTs, 8 BMP-1 and 15 BMP-2 IFVs, and 23 BTR-60/70/80 APCs. It should be noted that most of the aforementioned vehicles are not ready to take part in combat action due to the low level of serviceability. Hence, the motor rifle troops of both Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan desperately lack even obsolete and out-of-date armoured vehicles to provide firepower and protection during engagements. The delivery of the upgraded BTR-70 armoured personnel carriers from Russia seems to be the most inexpensive way to obtain the land forces` maneuver capability for the aforementioned Central Asian countries. Moscow may offer the similar upgrade of BMP-1 and BMP-2 IFVs to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The overhaul and the firepower upgrade will turn the ageing Soviet IFVs into relatively modern vehicles that can participate into counter-terroristic actions. The Islamic State (IS, forbidden in Russia) terroristic grouping seems to be shoring up its positions in the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union. Therefore, the acquisitions of relatively inexpensive armoured vehicles in huge quantities for the governmental forces may turn the tide back. The terrorists are supposed to lack anti-tank capability - hence, even BTR-70Ms, BMP-1s, and BMP-2s are effective against enemy`s manpower.
     
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