Big Bang Ricochet 032: Russias BTR-70 APC (d20)
In 1978¸ the Soviet military introduced their second generation modern APC¸ the BTR-70. In the following decade¸ it would become one of the most extensively modified military machines in the world. The BTR-70 is a war machine forged in the crucible of warfare in Afghanistan. Originally designed for combat on the coastal plains of northern Europe¸ like most Soviet era military equipment¸ it was not equipped to deal with the harsh nature of combat in the high mountains of southwestern Asia. Beginning with early field modifications to add roof firing ports¸ the BTR-70 evolved step by step into a military vehicle well suited to handling combat on the low ground¸ outfitted with rocket launchers¸ machine guns and grenade launchers able to fire high into the mountain cliffs. Though two additional generations of the BTR family have since been introduced to the Russian military¸ the BTR-70 soldiers on¸ the subject of numerous potent modernization programs in Russia¸ Ukraine¸ Belorus¸ and Slovakia¸ all enabling the BTR-70 to keep pace with the advancements made in the design of later generation BTRs¸ making the BTR-70 a valuable commodity on the international arms market. Along with detailing the original BTR-70 family of vehicles plus the modifications made during the Soviet-Afghan War¸ this booklet also details the numerous modernized versions of the vehicle¸ including the Russian BTR-70M4 and BTR-70D¸ Belorussian/Slovakian BTR-70 Kobra-K¸ and the Ukrainian BTR-70 KMDB Upgrade and BTR-70 GROM. Statistics are provided for all modernized versions. Nine pages of content.