First trial tests of Ukrainian BTR-4MV1 8x8 armoured fighting vehicle

According a video posted on the Facebook account of the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, the BTR-4MV1, the latest generation of Ukrainian-made 8x8 armoured infantry fighting vehicle in the BTR-4 family has performed first trials including mobility and firing tests.

The Ukrainian-made BTR4-MV1 8x8 armoured fighting vehicle during trial tests in Ukraine (Print Screen Ukroboronprom Video )

The BTR-4MV1 was unveiled during the defense exhibition in Ukraine, "Arms and Security" in November 2017. The vehicle is designed, developed and produced by the Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau, part of UkrOboronProm, State-owned Ukrainian defense manufacturer.

According to the manufacturer, the BTR-4-MV1 combat vehicle is built using modern technology compliant to NATO standards . The vehicle is based to the BTR-4 family but with many improvements including new armour and powerpack.

The BTR-4MV1 is based on an modular platform offering the possibility to install additional types of protection (including ceramic plates and explosive reactive armour) to reach the fourth and fifth protection levels in accordance with the NATO standards.

During the trial test, the BTR-4MV1 was equipped with the BM-3 "Shturm" remote-controlled weapon station, but the vehicle can also be fitted with other weapons station as the BAU-23x2, "Grom" turret or BM-7 "Parus" turret. The BM-3 "Shturm" turret is armed with a ZTM-1 30 mm automatic gun which can be remotely operated to provide increased soldier protection in hostile environments. The 30mm gun has a maximum firing rate of 330 rounds per minute and can fire AP-T (Armour Piercing - Tracer), HEF-I (High Explosive Fragmentation - Incendiary) and HE-T (High Explosive - Tracer) rounds. A 7.62 mm machine gun is mounted at the left side of the main armament. There is also two launchers on the right side of the turret for the Barrier anti-tank laser-guided missiles.

The BTR-4MV1 has a crew of three including driver, commander and gunner and can carry seven troops at the rear of the hull. The BTR-4MV1 is motorized with a Diesel engine developing 450 hp, it can run at a maximum speed of 110 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 650 km. The BTR-4MV1 is also fully amphibious propelled in the water by two propellers mounted at the rear of the hull.