Ukrainian state-owned defense industrial group UkrOboronProm on 27 November announced that its owned subsidiary SE “Mykolayiv Armoured Plant” handed over the next batch of repaired and upgraded BTR-80 armoured personnel carriers to the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
The Mykolayiv Armoured Plant’s specialists overhauled the Soviet-era armored personnel carriers, restored all components and units, as well as installed the latest Ukrainian-made surveillance, navigation and communication systems.
“Following improving the tactical and technical characteristics, armored personnel carriers have become more convenient to operate in a night-time, as they are equipped with the latest thermal sighting system. Visibility and target recognition has also been significantly improved. And the new BTR-80 digital communication devices comply with NATO standards. The upgraded armored personnel carriers have already been hand over to our military “, – said the director of the Mykolayiv Armoured Plan, Yuri Kravchenko.
The BTR-80 8×8 armoured personnel carrier, manufactured by the Arzamas machinery Construction Plant of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 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 Soviet Army in the late 1980s and has since been used in a number of military conflicts, including UN peacekeeping operations.
