DUSHANBE, July 26, 2016, Asia-Plus – Servicemen of the Russian military base deployed in Tajikistan have reportedly used new APCs in exercises in Tajikistan for the first time.
Russian servicemen used armored personnel carriers (APCs) BTR-82A in maneuvers in the foothills of the Eastern Pamirs, Yaroslav Roshchupkin, a spokesman for the Russian Central Military District, said.
“In accordance with the rearmament plan, more than 400 vehicles and armaments, including APC BTR-82As, new modifications of tank T-72, trucks “Ural”, armored combat all-terrain vehicles “Tigr”, drones “Forpost”, “Zastaba”, “Granat” and others have gone into service of Russian military base in Tajikistan over the last two years,” Roshchupkin said.
The BTR-82A is an advanced 8×8 wheeled armored personnel carrier (APC) being manufactured by Military Industrial Company of Russia for use by the armies of Russia and Kazakhstan.
The first prototypes of the vehicle were unveiled in December 2009. The APC”s features were demonstrated during the 15th Interpolitex State Security Materiel Show at the All-Russia Exhibition Center in Moscow in October 2011. It was also displayed at the Russian Expo Arms 2011 show in Nizhny Tagil.
The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan accepted 30 new BTR-82A combat vehicles in December 2012. The vehicles were deployed with the military unit 25744.
Production of the BTR-82A APCs for the Russian Army was started in September 2013. The first APC was reportedly delivered in 2014.
The BTR-82A APC was developed based on the design of BTR-80A. The vehicle offers improved protection capabilities than its predecessor.
The BTR-82A APC can perform combat operations 24 hours a day. The main armament of the APC is 30mm dual-feed automatic cannon. The gun can fire armor piercing-tracer (AP-T) projectiles, high-explosive fragmentation-incendiary (HEF-I) and high-explosive-tracer (HE-T) ammunition. The secondary armament of the vehicle includes a 7.62mm PKTM coaxial machine gun. The turret incorporates two-axis stabilization, new sighting channels, and three forward-facing 81mm smoke grenade launchers on each side. The firing elevation ranges from -7° to +70°.
The Russian military base deployed in Tajikistan is Russia”s largest non-naval military facility outside the country. It was officially opened in Tajikistan in 2004 under a previous agreement, which was signed in 1993, and hosts Russia’s largest military contingent deployed abroad.
A total of some 7,000 Russian troops are now stationed at two military facilities collectively known as the 201st military base – in Dushanbe and Qurghon Teppa, some 100 kilometers from Dushanbe.
