BTR-80

BTR-80
Russian BTR-80
Type	Armored personnel carrier
Place of origin	Soviet Union Russia
Service history
In service	1986 – present
Used by	See Operators
Wars	Soviet War in Afghanistan Nagorno-Karabakh War Georgian Civil War Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present) Transnistria War Tajikistan Civil War First Chechen War War of Dagestan Second Chechen War 2008 South Ossetian War Iraqi insurgency (2011–present) War in Donbass
Production history
Manufacturer	Arzamas Machinery Plant, Nizhniy Novgorod
Produced	1984 – present
Number built	5000+
Specifications
Weight	13.6 tonnes (15.0 tons)
Length	7.7 m (25.3 ft)
Width	2.9 m (9.5 ft)
Height	2.41 m (7.9 ft)
Crew	3 (+7 passengers)
Main armament	14.5 mm KPVT machine gun or 30mm 2A72 automatic cannon
Secondary armament	7.62 mm PKT machine gun
Engine	diesel KamAZ-7403 260 hp (190 kW)
Power/weight	19 hp/tonne
Suspension	wheeled 8×8
Operational range	600 km (372.8 mi)
Speed	80-90 km/h (49.7–55.9 m/h) swim 10 km/h (6.2 m/h)

The BTR-80 (Russian: бронетранспортер/Bronetransporter, literally "Armoured Transporter") is an 8x8 wheeled amphibious armoured personnel carrier (APC) designed in the USSR. It was adopted in 1986 and replaced the previous vehicles, the BTR-60 and BTR-70, in the Soviet Army. It was first deployed during the Soviet war in Afghanistan.

The Soviets based the BTR-80 on the BTR-70 APC. 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 infra-red 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.

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 (0.57 in) KPVT and coaxial 7.62 mm (0.3 in) 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 have also 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 from the front of the vehicle.