The BTR-80 is an 8×8 wheeled amphibious armoured personnel carrier (APC) designed in the Soviet Union. It was adopted in 1985 and replaced the previous vehicles, the BTR-60 and BTR-70, in the Soviet Army. It was first deployed during the Soviet–Afghan War.<ref name="urlBTR-80A armoured vehicle personnel carrier technical data sheet specifications information pictures | Russia Russian army wheeled armoured vehicle UK | Russia Russian army military equipment vehicles UK"> The BTR-80 was developed into the larger BTR-90 in the early 1990s.

Description

The BTR-80 is based on the BTR-70 APC, which itself was based on the BTR-60. It has a single 260-hp V-8 turbocharged water-cooled diesel engine, an improvement over the twin gasoline engines installed in the BTR-60 and BTR-70 vehicles. The reconfigured rear portion of the hull accommodates the new, single engine. The Soviets removed the roof chamfers of the modified BTR-70, raised the rear, and squared off the rearward-sloping engine compartment. Standard equipment includes TNPO vision blocks, TNP-B and TKN-3 optical devices for the driver and commander, an OU-3GA2M infrared search light, six 81 mm smoke grenade launchers 902V "Tucha", a radioset (R-173 or R-163-50U), an intercom, and hydrojets for amphibious propulsion.

Capabilities

The Soviets modified the truncated cone turret used on the BTR-70 for the BTR-80 by redesigning the mantlet. This allows the 14.5 mm KPVT and coaxial 7.62 mm PKT machine guns to be elevated to a maximum of 60 degrees. This high angle of fire is useful in engaging targets on steep slopes, in urban fighting, and for engaging low slow flying air targets. The Soviets modified the design and positioning of the firing ports. The ports are now round rather than tear-shaped, and have ball mounts similar to those used on the BMP-1. The forward firing ports now sit in angled recesses, which allows infantry to fire to the front of the vehicle. The redesigned side doors are split horizontally. The upper portion opens forward. This gives dismounting troops some protection against small arms fire from the front of the vehicle. The lower portion opens down, forming a step. Six smoke grenade projectors are mounted on the rear of the turret. The BTR-80 can climb a slope with up to 60% gradient and climb a vertical step of 0.5 m.

Protection

The BTR-80's protection is similar to that of prior models, intended only to provide protection from small arms ball ammo and small bomb splinters all-around. However it has minor armor upgrades: the front and sides of the hull were thickened from 7 mm to 9 mm (on par with the turret). Its armor scheme in high-hardness steel is as follows:

Remakes

In 1984, the Soviets began production of a diesel-engined variant of the BTR-70, which they called the BTR-80. The Soviets have retrofitted some BTR-70s with several of the improvements incorporated into the BTR-80, including the high-angle-of-fire turret. The twin doors are designed to allow the infantry to disembark while the vehicle is in motion, and allow the infantry inside to exit from one side if the other is receiving fire. The 30mm Cannon variants are effective against most targets apart from main battle tanks, against which they can still cause significant damage to optics, weapons, and important systems. The main gun is not stabilized, so accurate fire on the move is limited to low speeds. The turret's rotation mechanism is manually operated. The gunner sits in a roof-mounted chair located above the flat floor behind the driver/commander and two passengers, and before the passenger bench.

Operational history

The BTR-80 took part in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. As of 16 December 2023 both Russia and Ukraine lost significant numbers of BTR-80s.

Variants

Russia

Colombia

Estonia

Hungary

North Korea

Peru

Nevertheless, the recognized Ukrainian involvement in the armament (ZTM-2 cannon) and the strong visual resemblance to BTR-3 hints us to state that it is (at least a derivative of) a BTR-3.

Romania

Ukraine

Operators

Current operators

Former operators

Potential operators

Museum exhibits

Sources