A dramatic video has gave the impression appearing a Russian BTR-82 8×8 armored body of workers service firing its primary gun wildly, spitting dozens of shells in a single fiery burst, it appears because of a technical malfunction after the car was once reportedly struck by means of a Ukrainian drone. Whilst large numbers of this actual type of BTR were misplaced in Russian arms for the reason that get started of the full-scale invasion, that is undoubtedly one of the unusual sequences we’ve noticed of the car in struggle.
The BTR-82 follows the similar layout because the Chilly Conflict-era BTR-80 and generally incorporates as much as 3 staff and 7 troops. The usual armored body of workers service variant weighs 16 lots and has a best pace on advanced roads of between 50 and 60 miles consistent with hour, and it has additionally spawned a variety of variants and specialised cars. The BTR-82 is very cell, with an amphibious capacity the use of waterjet propulsion.
The video in query is edited in combination the use of pictures from a minimum of two drones, one among them offering overwatch and the opposite it appears a weaponized first-person view (FPV) drone. At the beginning of the series, smoke may also be noticed coming from the left rear nook of the BTR, which stands desk bound in a box. One of the hatches are already open, suggesting that individuals of the staff have escaped or are about to.
Smoke emanates from the rear right-hand a part of the BTR-82 within the first a part of the video. by means of X
It’s value noting that this actual BTR has some visual anti-drone protections, together with two ‘cope cages’ which might be additionally festooned with netting. This sort of is positioned over the gun mounting on best of the turret. Slat armor may be fitted across the facets of the hull. Cope cages, which you’ll learn extra about right here, are a well-known characteristic on a wide variety of cars within the Ukraine warfare, offering a bodily barrier in opposition to drone affects and getting into the car itself, particularly within the extra prone spaces of the turret and the hull. Slat armor, in the meantime, supplies further coverage in opposition to projectiles coming near the entrance, facets, and rear of the car, generally rocket-propelled grenades and identical anti-armor guns.
The following view, from the FPV drone, displays it coming near the car, despite the fact that we don’t see it if truth be told input the hull. It’s now not transparent if the BTR was once already smoking at this level, having been hit by means of a prior drone or receiving any other roughly hearth. It may be that those two portions of the video are supplied out of series, with this FPV drone pictures having been captured sooner than the car began to smoke.
Imagery captured from an FPV drone, which could have entered the open hatch within the car a second later. by means of X
Regardless, at this level, the BTR-82’s primary gun, which is in a raised place, starts to fireside. It stays firing, with out pause, for a complete 20 seconds, leaving the car cloaked in smoke.
The principle weapon of the BTR-82 is a 2A72 autocannon in 30mm. It is a mild construction of the commonly used 2A42, which hands the BMP-2 infantry struggle car, BMD-2 and BMD-3 airborne struggle cars, BTR-90 armored body of workers service, in addition to Ka-52 and Mi-28 assault helicopters.
A BTR-82 armored body of workers service lands at the seaside right through joint army workout routines of Russian and Belarus troops on the Khmelevka firing vary within the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Word the gun barrel right here in a diminished place. ALEXEY DRUZHININ/AFP by means of Getty Photographs ALEXEY DRUZHININ
The 2A72 has a fee of fireside of 330 rounds consistent with minute, sending its ammunition to an efficient vary of virtually a mile in opposition to an armored car. It is a significantly sooner fee of fireside than the already spectacular 200 rounds consistent with minute completed by means of the rapid-fire Bushmaster chain gun, as used at the M2 Bradley infantry struggle car, which is utilized by Ukraine.
Towards cushy goals, reminiscent of infantry, the efficient vary of the gun is larger to round 1.2 miles. Ammunition choices come with armor-piercing-tracer (AP-T), high-explosive fragmentation-incendiary (HEF-I), and high-explosive-tracer (HE-T) ammunition.
The BTR-82 most often carries 300 rounds of 30mm ammunition, so we aren’t seeing the complete load being fired right here, despite the fact that it’s nonetheless an important salvo. It’s additionally now not transparent what sort of impact this sustained burst of fireside may have had at the gun, its mounting, and ancillary apparatus. Even though designed for extended firing, the gun is air-cooled, that means that in depth sustained use may just motive it to overheat or motive different injury.
A BTR-82 armored body of workers service right through the Victory Day army parade in Crimson Sq. marking the seventy fifth anniversary of the victory in Global Conflict II, on June 24, 2020, in Moscow, Russia. Picture by means of Vladimir Pesnya – Host Picture Company by means of Getty Photographs Handout
Since we don’t know needless to say whether or not any staff individuals have been within the car on the time, this was once very most probably a completely unprompted firing series, with the 2A72 burning thru to be had ammunition, which is belt-fed, sooner than it in spite of everything exhausted it or the gun failed solely.
The destiny of the BTR-82 within the video additionally stays unclear, however on the very least it will seem to have been critically broken. Additional fires or detonations can have been catastrophic and there’s all the time the chance that it would were centered by means of additional FPV drone moves.
In line with the Oryx open-source monitoring crew, which most effective information losses that it has visible affirmation of, Russia has noticed greater than 1000 BTR-82 sequence cars, together with the extra fashionable BTR-82AT, destroyed, deserted, or captured for the reason that get started of the full-scale invasion.
A BTR-82 of the Russian Armed Forces within the army museum in Kyiv, after the car have been destroyed on the Antonov Airport in Gostomel. Picture by means of Aleksandr Gusev/SOPA Photographs/LightRocket by means of Getty Photographs SOPA Photographs
Losses like those have, partly, induced Russia to deploy some a lot older armored body of workers carriers within the struggle, together with the tracked BTR-50, which first entered Soviet carrier in 1954. Those historic cars started to be famous within the context of the warfare in Ukraine in early 2023 and now are a extra not unusual sight within the combating.
In the end, the BTR-82’s unplanned lengthy burst of cannon hearth could have been an atypical anomaly, however the car — supplied it was once sooner or later destroyed — may also be added to an enormous and rising selection of the sort that has been misplaced in Ukraine.
Touch the writer: thomas@thewarzone.com
