BTR-80

The **BTR-80** **APC** is an armored personnel carrier featured in Squad. The BTR-80 was adopted as the standard armored personnel carrier (APC) of the Soviet Army in 1986 and served until 1991, when the Soviet Army dissolved. The Soviet Army's successor, the Russian Ground Forces (RGF), kept the BTR-80 as the standard APC and ICV until 2013, when it was replaced by its modern variant, the BTR-82A.

## General Information

The BTR-80 is an 8-wheeled APC or infantry carrier. It was designed by the Soviet Ministry of Automobile and Agricultural Machinery in 1984. The BTR-80 was adopted by the Soviet Army two years later as their standard APC, replacing the BTR-70, and remained in service until 1991, when the Soviet Army dissolved. The Soviet Army's successor, the RGF, continued using the BTR-80 as the standard APC and ICV. The BTR-80 remained in service until 2013, when it got replaced by a more modern variant, the BTR-82A. All BTR-80s that were in service in the RGF were later upgraded to that of the BTR-82A configuration and the new variant was named the BTR-82AM. The BTR-80 is still used by many countries and non-state organizations, mainly due to their connections to the Soviet Union in their past.

The BTR-80 weighs 13.6 tonnes (15.0 tons), is 7.7 m (25.3 ft) long, 2.9 m (9.5 ft) wide, and 2.41 m (7.9 ft) high. The BTR-80 can hold 1 driver, 1 gunner, and 11 passengers. The vehicle has a single 260-hp, V-8 turbocharged, water-cooled, diesel engine unlike the twin gasoline engines that was incorporated in the BTR-70, as well as having the rear of the vehicle raised up, the rearward-sloping engine compartment squared off, and the removal of the roof chamfers. The BTR-80 has the 14.5mm KPVT HMG as its armament. The BTR-80 can reach a top speed of 90 km/h (55.9 mph).

## Gameplay

The BTR-80 is used by two factions, the RGF and the Irregular Militia.

* The BTR-80 can hold up to 11 players: 1 driver, 1 gunner, 1 commander and 8 passengers.
* The BTR-80s respawn timer is 10 minutes and it's ticket value is 10.
* The BTR-80 is fitted with the powerful 14.5mm  KPVT heavy machine gun (50 rounds in each belt, 9 belts in reserve) that is capable of moderate penetration of certain cover and against lightly-armored vehicles using AP rounds. It is also equipped with coaxial PKT machine gun (250 rounds in each belt, 5 belts in reserve), that is ideal for engaging enemy infantry outside of harder cover.
* As a gunner, be mindful of your ammo since the gun magazines are relatively small (50 rounds); fire in short bursts and aim carefully when engaging infantry and targets at range. It takes approximately 12 seconds to reload the main gun, something you dont want to do when facing down an enemy vehicle.
* You get two "bursts" of smoke grenades for personal defense. To fire the smoke grenades, press "2" on your keyboard to switch off of the main gun. Press LMB to fire off the smoke. It can be quite easy to accidentally discharge both your grenade charges at once if you click in a panicked fashion. There is a slight delay between firing and the grenade detonation, so don't assume it isn't working right away. Press "1" to switch back to the main gun.
* The Squad community refer the BTR-80 as the **BTR**, which is the beginning part of the name "BTR-80". It can be differentiated from its more powerful variant, the BTR-82A, by saying things like "BTR-80" or "machine gun BTR".
* You are an Armoured Personnel Carrier. If you see a group of friendlies who need transport, make the offer and take the initiative.

**MATCHUPS WITH VEHICLES OF COMPARABLE ROLE ARE AS FOLLOWS:**

1. M1126: The M1126 is your primary adversary, and is stronger in some areas and weaker in others. The M1126 has better overall armour than the BTR-80, slightly better speed, and slightly better acceleration. The CROWS .50 cal of the M1126 has a better camera zoom and range, but the BTR-80 does technically have the more powerful weapon in its KPVT and its armour-piercing rounds. The main difference is in armour, as the M1126 has much stronger protection and much better coverage. Try to get the drop of M1126s by engaging them from the rear and by targeting known weak points. His frontal armour is tough, don't just dump rounds into it.
2. MT-LB and MT-LBM: Slow, poorly armoured, loud, and clumsy. The MT-LB and MT-LBM come in several variants, many of which are quite inferior to the BTR-80 and present little danger to you, though they can all usually carry more people. MT-LBs with PKT MGs present no threat. MT-LBs with NSVT machine guns are slightly more dangerous but you can usually pummel them into scrap with your superior firepower. The variant with the KPVT has the exact same armament as you and can kill you quite quickly if it gets the first shots off, but it's armour is so poor that you might still win a surprise engagement. The ZSU-23 MT-LB has such poor accuracy that it needs to be at extremely close range to hit you, and in that case you can easily shoot the gunner from his exposed chair. Finally, the 30mm MT-LBM is the most dangerous variant, as the 30mm cannon can and will destroy you in short order if it has the advantage. The armour is still very poor however, so you might still emerge victorious.
3. **BTR-80**: It is possible that you might encounter BTRs of an enemy faction when playing on maps where the RGF and Militia forces are engaging each other, as both factions possess BTR-80s. In this case, with the exact same stats, the kill will go to the superior crew; the crew that is better coordinated, more skilled, and knows the weak points in the armour.
4. BTR-82A: Essentially the same as you in all regards except for armament. The 30mm cannon here is the same variant as carried on a MT-LBM, and just as dangerous to you. Again, try and get the drop on them and aim for weaker areas like the roof, rears doors, and lower hull.
5. FV432: This British Tracked vehicle is a mixed bag of advantage and disadvantage when compared to the BTR-80. On one hand, it is slower and less maneuverable (although not as much as you might think, it is surprisingly agile for a tracked vehicle). It's armament is an open topped .50 cal, which makes it quite easy to shoot out the gunner and he possess no optics, with only iron sights to guide him. THe FV432 does however have very strong armour when compared to a BTR-80. Study the models at Jensen's range to get an understanding of the weak points of each vehicle.
6. ZSL-10: You two have nearly identical values in armor and firepower. ZSL-10 is more maneuverable than you. However, ZSL-10 has poorer visibility due to being an open-top vehicle. Utilize the advantages in awareness while hunting them down with your turret HMG, and keep your behind out of their view.
7. ZBL-08: Though rarely matched up in the same layer, when ZBL-08 appear, they represent one of the biggest threats to you. ZBL-08 has a 30 mm autocannon with high-penetrating AP Sabot rounds, much more lethal than the ones on BTR-82A. it's highly advised to NOT engage the ZBL-08 head-on, instead, ambush the rear or side of the vehicle or accompany other infantry for mobility kills. You're even more outmatched in firepower to the ZBL-08 variant with two HJ-73C anti-tank guided missiles, and you should avoid contact with this variant by any means possible.

 Secondary Armament
 Countermeasure

## Trivia

* BTR stands for Russian *Bronetransporter* (бронетранспортер) which means "Armored Personnel Carrier" in English. The number 80 represents the decade the BTR-80 is designed, which is 1986.
* The BTR-80's ticket value previously was 30 tickets but was decreased by 10 tickets in the Alpha v9.4 update.
* \* - The Irregular Militia have their own camouflage paint-jobs for their vehicle.

## See Also

* BTR-80 on Army Technology
* BTR-80 on Wikipedia and Wikimedia [1]
* KPVT
* PKT
* Russian Ground Forces
* Irregular Militia Forces gain BTR-80 too
* Vehicles
* OWI releases BTR-80
* OWI further details BTR-80
* OWI details BTR-80
* OWI reveals BTR-80