Starting in 1994, the Arzamas Mechanical Building Plant in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, located just east of Russia’s capital Moscow, has produced around 10 BTR-90 wheeled armored personnel carriers.
The eight-wheel drive BTR-90, weighing 23 tons, served on a trial basis with domestic troops for several years before being stored at the 38th Scientific Research Institute in Kubinka, near Moscow.
The reason it went into storage was because there was no need for a new BTR at the time. The BTR-80, BTR-70, and BTR-60, which had been developed before that, made do with it, and there was sufficient supply.
Twenty years later, things have changed. The BTR-90 is back in use in Ukraine. It was posted online on the 13th.pictureshows at least one BTR-90 used in Russia’s 18-month war against Ukraine.
It’s not hard to imagine why the Russian military is pulling 30-year-old prototype vehicles out of long-term storage and sending them to the front lines.
The Russian military lost approximately 4,000 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and armored personnel carriers (APCs) during nearly two years of fierce fighting. This number represents approximately one-third of the IFVs and APCs operated by the Russian military as of February 2022.
If statements by Vladimir Artyakov, deputy director general of Russia’s state-owned company Rostec, are accurate, Russian industry may produce 1,000 new and upgraded combat vehicles and personnel carriers this year.
Even so, it is still a few thousand ryo short of making up for the losses, and this must be procured from somewhere. Russia is exhausting its remaining 1960s and 1950s BMP-1 and BTR-50s in long-term storage and appears to be turning to test facilities like the 38th Scientific Research Institute next.
The BTR-90 is not a bad vehicle. The hull is larger than the BTR-80 and is equipped with a 30mm 2A42 cannon and armor that can repel machine gun fire. It should also be easy to maintain. The parts used are similar to those of the BTR-80, and the same cannon is also used in the IFV’s BMP-2.
The problem with the BTR-90 is not with the BTR-90 itself. The launch of the BTR-90 shows how tight the Russian military industry is. Russia is working hard to prepare for a war that could last until 2025 or even beyond.
In an effort to expand production of tanks such as the T-72 and T-90, Russia is replacing foreign parts that are no longer available due to sanctions with domestically produced parts and restarting production of the T-80.
However, these efforts take time and money. Meanwhile, Russian military regiments still need thousands of new vehicles to compensate for losses in constant combat. The regiment will be fine with any IFV or APC available. Even the prototype vehicle BTR-90 would be fine.
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2023-10-15 03:30:05
