Breaking news
Ministry of Defense from Russia will get 323 BTR-82AM armoured personnel carrier in 2016-2018 12508162.
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Defence & Security News - Russia
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| Ministry of Defense from Russia will get 323 BTR-82AM armoured personnel carrier in 2016-2018. | |||
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Russia`s Ministry of Defense (MoD) will get 323 BTR-82AM armoured personnel carriers (APC) in 2016-2018, according to a source in the indigenous defense industry. "In April 2016, the 81st Armour Repairing Plant (Russian acronym: BTRZ, Bronetankovyi Remontnyi Zavod, a subsidiary of the Uralvagonzavod research-production corporation) and the Russian MoD signed the contract for 323 BTR-82AM APCs to be delivered in 2016-2018.
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 The BTR-82AM is an upgraded version of BTR-80 to the standard of BTR-82A |
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In accordance with the agreement, the customer will receive 78 BTR-82AM vehicles in 2016, 100 in 2017, and 145 in 2018," the source said.
He added that the 81st BTRZ had already signed the contracts with the subcontractors in order to get the components for the aforementioned BTR-82AM carriers. "The 81st BTRZ has ordered 2,584 KI-126 tires from the LLC AMTEL Investment Company, 12ST-85RM accumulator batteries, 323 contact components, 323 kits of lifting straps, and 323 spare tools and accessories kits," the source said. By mid-2016, the 81st BTRZ had finished the implementation of the first contract worth RUB6.77 billion (USD104.1 million) for BTR-82AM armoured personnel carriers intended for the Russian military. "In accordance with the first agreement signed in April 2014, the MoD received 316 BTR-82AM vehicles. The first 120 APCs were delivered in 2014, 134 in 2015, and 62 in 2016," the source pointed out. Hence, Russia`s Ministry of Defense will have received a total of 639 BTR-82AM armoured personnel carriers from the 81st BTRZ by mid-2018. It is noteworthy that the 81st BTRZ is to supply 17 BTR-82AM armoured vehicles to Russia`s Ministry of Internal Affairs (Russian acronym: MVD, Ministerstvo Vnutrennikh Del). However, the source did not specify the terms of the relevant contract. BTR-82AM is the upgrade of the ageing BTR-80 APC to the BTR-82A level. According to the official data provided by the manufacturer of the vehicles, the Military Industrial Company (Russian acronym: VPK, Voyenno-Promishlennaya Kompaniya), the BTR-82A APC has a combat weight of 16,000 kg, a maximum road speed of 80 km/h, a maximum swimming speed of 9 km/h, and an operational range of 700 km. The vehicle is armed with a 30 mm Shipunov 2A72 stabilized cannon and a 7.62 mm Kalashnikov PKTM coaxial machinegun. The carrier is powered by the KAMAZ 740.14-300 turbodiesel engine (300 h.p.). BTR-82A is armoured at Level 2 STANAG 4569 (all-round protection against 7.62 mm steel core armour-piercing bullet at a 30 m distance). BTR-82A has retained the basic armour protection of its predecessor, BTR-80/BTR-82A. It is slightly increased due to the installation of spall liner. The APC carries a sophisticated radio, the Trona-1 geospatial system with combined inertial/satellite navigation subsystems, and a day/night sighting system. The BTR-82A’s firepower has been increased owing to the electrically driven manned combat module equipped with the two-axis gun stabilizer. However, the main drawback of BTR-80/BTR-80A, namely, weak ballistic/counter-mine protection was not fixed. The Military Industrial Company is doing some efforts to enhance the BTR-82A/AM`s protection, according to the company`s Director General, Alexander Krasovitsky. |
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 Rear view of BTR-82A at defense exhibition near Moscow, Russia |
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"The protection level of the BTR-82A APC will be increased, as our customers require the upgrade of the carriers` ballistic and counter-mine protection. VPK will use its know-hows to increase the survivability of the APCs on the modern battlefield," Krasovitsky said.
He pointed out, that both BTR-80 / 80A and BTR-82A are still in high demand by foreign customers on the global arms market. "New customers for our armoured vehicles are appearing. The APCs developed by VPK have proven themselves reliable and effective in combat. Furthermore, the BTR-82A carrier has a significant advantage over his rivals at the modern arms market, namely, its balanced cost, which has become more attractive due to the available rate of exchange. The analogues of BTR-82A developed by, for instance, Turkey or Finland are much more expensive, while the BTR-82A`s technical specifications do not fall short of them and in several areas significantly exceed those of Western vehicles," Krasovitsky pointed out. BTR-82A/AM is supposed to replace the BTR-80 / 80A APCs in service with the Russian Armed Forces. According to the Military Balance 2016 report issued by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Russia`s military operates 1,220 BTR-82A/AMs. It should be noted that Moscow is intensively promoting the vehicles on the global arms market. Kazakhstan is known to have received 70 BTR-82As, while Belarus has ordered 32 BTR-82A carriers. Russia`s MoD orders not only BTR-82AMs rebuilt from BTR-80s, but also brand-new BTR-82As. The latest disclosed contract for 20 BTR-82A vehicles was signed in April 2016. The carriers are to be delivered by end-2016. The cost of the agreement was not announced. BTR-82A/AM armoured personnel carriers are supposed to be replaced by the Bumerang (Boomerang) platform "in the nearest future", according to the source. However, they will be the backbone of the Naval Infantry and Motor rifle units for about 10-15 years. "Do not dismiss the BTR-82A vehicles. They have already revealed their high combat potential and cost-effectiveness ratio. One cannot find an infantry fighting vehicle at the price of an APC," he concluded. |
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