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The BTR-80 8 x 8 armoured personnel carrier, manufactured by the Gorki Mechanical Plant, is intended to carry personnel on the battlefield and provide close fire support. It can also carry out reconnaissance, combat support and patrol missions. It entered service with the Russian Army in the late 1980's and has since been used in a number of military conflicts, including UN peacekeeping operations. The vehicle is in production and is also in service with a number of other countries.
The following vehicles have also been developed from the basic BTR-80: BREM-K armoured recovery and repair vehicle; BMM armoured ambulance vehicle; RkhM-4-01 radiation and chemical reconnaissance vehicle; and 2S23 Nona SVK 120 mm self-propelled gun, in service with the Russian Army since 1990. DESIGN The fully amphibious BTR-80 is equipped to carry ten personnel: commander, driver/mechanic, gunner and seven troops. There are seven ball-swivel firing ports in the vehicle hull, four on the right and three on the left side of the vehicle, as well as ports in the upper hatches of the firing compartment. The hatches have armoured doors and are situated on both sides of the vehicle. The BTR-80 is fitted with NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) protection system, automatic firefighting system, camouflage devices, bilge pumps and a self-recovery winch. ARMAMENT BTR-80 has a BPU-1 turret machine gun mount which houses 14.5 mm KPTV and 7.62 mm PKT coaxial machine guns. The 14 mm gun has a full 360 degree traverse with an elevation of 60 degrees for improved effectiveness in air defence. The range of this gun is 2 km. The range of the 7.62 mm gun is 1.5 km. Ammunition load for the KPVT machine gun is 500 rounds, with 2,000 rounds for the PKT machine gun. There are six smoke grenade dischargers, three fitted either side of the main gun. PROPULSIONThe vehicle is powered by a 7403 four-stroke, eight cylinder liquid cooled diesel engine, which provides 260 hp. It is capable of a maximum speed of 80 km/hour on paved road and 9 km/hour when afloat. Fuel endurance range is 600 km on roads. BTR-80K COMMANDER APC The BTR-80K is intended to enable the infantry battalion commander to command subunits and maintain communications with headquarters. It is based on the BTR-80, with the same 14.5 mm and 7.62 mm machine guns, but has a number of extra systems necessary for this mission. These include: two VHF-173 radio sets, antenna device set for UHF antenna, IFF automatic interrogator, TNA-4 navigational aid, PAB- 2M artillery periscope aiming ring, TNP-165A night vision sight, TSh-4 interphone headsets with GVSh-T-13 head and chest set. BTR-80A/80S On the BTR-80A (in service since 1994) and BTR-80S, the standard BTR-80 turret is replaced with a modular armaments system. The BTR-80A is fitted with a 30 mm 2A72 automatic gun and 7.62 mm PKT coaxial machine gun. The 30 mm 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 Explosve - Tracer) rounds. The BTR-80S is equipped with 14 mm KPVT machine gun and 7.62 mm PKT coaxial machine gun. For both these modifications, the armament system can be altered to fit customer requirements. The armament sighting system is manual. The fire control system includes a dual magnification day sight and x5.5 night sight. |
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  The BTR-80 8 x 8 armoured personnel carrier. | |
 The BTR-80 Armoured Personnel Carrier. | ||||
 The Gunner's and Driver's stations. | ||||
 The BTR-80K Command APC fording. | ||||
 The RKhM-4-01 BTR-80 variant. | ||||
 The BTR-80S showing side entrance. | ||||
 The new BTR-90 builds on the success of the BTR-80. | ||||
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