Combat buses … In the early 2000s, work began in Ukraine on the creation of a new armored personnel carrier, which was supposed to surpass all the vehicles of the Soviet period, which were inherited in massive quantities after the collapse of the USSR to the former Soviet republics. Work on a new armored personnel carrier began on an initiative basis in the Kharkov Mechanical Engineering Design Bureau, which specializes in the development of armored vehicles. In the 2000s, two new versions of the armored personnel carrier were created here.
The first version of the BTR-3 was a simpler project, representing a further modernization of the BTR-80. Ideologically, it is in every way close to the Russian serial armored personnel carrier BTR-82A. The second variant is more complicated and more promising - BTR-4 "Bucephalus". The family of these Ukrainian armored personnel carriers has been developed and is the basis for the creation of a large number of models of various wheeled military equipment. This is due to a new approach, a change in the layout and the use of a modular design that allows you to quickly and painlessly create vehicles for different combat missions.
Numerous news concerning marriage, malfunctions or breakdowns of the BTR-4 have nothing to do with the design of the vehicle itself, and even more so with the work of Kharkov designers. The main problem of the armored vehicle is the weakness of the Ukrainian industry, low production culture and chronic underfunding. The Ukrainian defense industry is still not able to serially produce such an armored personnel carrier in marketable quantities. At the same time, the armored personnel carrier, of course, is in demand both by the Ukrainian military and foreign customers. On the international market, it can compete with Russian wheeled armored vehicles, primarily for its price and the best set of characteristics.
Layout and design of "Bucephalus"
The new Ukrainian armored personnel carrier BTR-4 is an all-wheel drive armored amphibious combat vehicle with an 8x8 wheel arrangement. Like most Soviet / Russian wheeled armored personnel carriers and modern Western counterparts, Ukrainian designers remained true to the four-axle formula. BTR-4 "Bucephalus" is designed to transport soldiers of motorized rifle units, as well as provide them with direct fire support in combat conditions. With the help of such an armored personnel carrier, motorized riflemen are able to conduct combat operations in any conditions, including in conditions of the use of various types of weapons of mass destruction by the enemy.
In addition to motorized rifle units, the vehicle can be used by marines and special forces units. The availability of modern equipment, primarily thermal imaging devices, makes it possible to use the BTR-4 for solving combat missions both in the daytime and at night. It can be used in various climatic conditions at air temperatures from -45 to +55 degrees Celsius (standard requirements for military equipment created in the post-Soviet space). The machine has sufficient maneuverability for off-road operations, including in complete off-road conditions.
The manufacturer refers the armored personnel carrier to a new generation of wheeled armored vehicles. Indeed, in comparison with the Soviet legacy, work was carried out to re-arrange the entire internal armor space of the car and the transition to Western standards for such equipment. Great attention was paid to the convenience of accommodating the crew and troops. The layout of the BTR-4 "Bucephalus" is divided into three sections:
- front - control compartment;
- middle - engine compartment;
- rear - combat and airborne compartment.
The use of a new layout scheme makes it possible to quickly transform the combat and airborne compartment of a combat vehicle without changing the layout and implemented solutions for the transmission and power plant, which paves the way for the creation of a large range of various combat vehicles based on the standard BTR-4 armored personnel carrier. Also, the implemented layout solutions made it possible to provide the safest of all possible methods of landing. Soldiers leave the armored personnel carrier through a double door in the rear of the combat vehicle. This solution provides maximum protection for soldiers from frontal fire, and the paratroopers can also use the hatches located in the roof of the hull to exit.
The layout and design of the BTR-4 make it possible, without significant changes, to make modifications to the armored personnel carrier, which differ in the set of installed weapons (4 combat modules are already available), as well as the level of protection. Various solutions allow using "Bucephalus" in different roles: both as an armored vehicle for transporting a motorized rifle squad, and as a wheeled infantry fighting vehicle. At the same time, the designers note that the large useful volume of the armored personnel carrier makes it possible to install it inside various equipment to create auxiliary equipment or support vehicles.
Already, on the basis of the BTR-4, the following have been created: the BTR-4KSh command and staff vehicle, the BTR-4K command vehicle, the BREM-4RM armored recovery vehicle (BREM), the BMM-4 armored medical vehicle, and the BRM-4K combat reconnaissance vehicle … There are also options with heavy weapons - the installation of a 120-mm mortar.
Technical capabilities of the armored personnel carrier BTR-4
The new Ukrainian armored personnel carrier, developed in Kharkov in the early 2000s, has an 8x8 wheel arrangement and is an all-wheel drive vehicle, which, at the request of the customer, can be equipped with various power plant options. There are three main options available: Ukrainian 3TD engine, Italian Iveco or German Deutz. The serial Ukrainian BTR-4 "Bucephalus" is equipped with three-cylinder diesel engines 3TD-3, with a volume of 8, 15 liters. Such an engine develops a maximum power of 500 hp, providing an armored personnel carrier with a maximum travel speed when driving on a highway - 110 km / h, on rough terrain - up to 60 km / h. In store down the highway - at least 690 km. The armored personnel carrier retained its buoyancy and can move through water at a speed of up to 10 km / h.
The increased cross-country ability is provided by the ground clearance - 475 mm. The BTR-4 armored personnel carrier itself has the following geometric dimensions: body length - 7760 mm, height - 2860-3200 mm, width - 2932 mm. The maximum allowable roll angle is 25 degrees, the maximum ascent angle is 30 degrees.
The combat weight of the vehicle has increased significantly compared to the Soviet BTR-60/70/80, which have weak bulletproof armor. In the standard version with bulletproof armor, providing all-round protection according to standard 2 STANAG-4569 against 7, 62-mm armor-piercing bullets, as well as fragments of 155-mm high-explosive fragmentation shells at a distance of 80 meters, the combat weight of the BTR-4 is 17 tons, with the installed combat module, the mass increases to 20 tons. At the same time, with a reinforced booking option that provides protection against shells of 30-mm automatic cannons (in the frontal projection), the combat weight of the vehicle increases to 25-26 tons. It is important to understand here that currently serial BTR-4s have numerous problems with hulls, including cracks. Also, the armor steel itself often does not correspond to the declared parameters; Ukrainian media also regularly write about this.
For comparison: the standard Soviet / Russian armored personnel carrier BTR-80 has a combat weight of 13.6 tons, no additional booking options are provided for it. The BTR-82A with a combat module equipped with a 30-mm automatic cannon weighs 15.6 tons and also cannot boast of any serious level of armor protection, retaining the old body of the BTR-80. In this regard, the Ukrainian armored personnel carrier provides a fundamentally different level of protection for the crew and the landing force (while improving the culture and quality of production) than Russian production models. The situation can be corrected only by the production of a fundamentally new armored personnel carrier based on the Boomerang wheeled platform.
Depending on the modification, the BTR-4 can take on board 7-9 paratroopers, the crew of the armored personnel carrier is 2-3 people (vehicle commander, driver-mechanic, in the presence of a combat module - a gunner-operator of weapons). In the sides of the hull there are loopholes with armored barriers for firing from personal weapons. Inside the hull there are individual paratrooper seats, which are attached to the roof of the combat vehicle. They can be located either in the center of the car, or along the sides opposite each other. These seats are quick-detachable, which allows you to easily and effectively transform the troop compartment for solving various tasks, including for the transportation of military cargo.
The most modern version of the armored personnel carrier is the BTR-4MV, the combat weight of which, depending on the level of protection, ranges from 21, 9 to 23, 55 tons. In the standard version, the armor can withstand a hit of 12.7 mm bullets in the frontal projection. This modification differs from other options by changing the shape of the case. The frontal part of the armored personnel carrier was significantly redesigned, which made it possible to seriously improve the protection in the frontal projection. On the BTR-4MV model, which was first introduced in 2013, there are no bulletproof glass and side doors of the driver and armored personnel carrier, which are now landing through hatches. In 2017, the BTR-4MV1 version was presented for the first time, which received additional ceramic armor. Also, on the BTR-4MV models, a full-fledged stern ramp for landing troops appeared at the rear.
For the BTR-4, four main combat modules have been developed
The armament of the BTR-4 armored personnel carrier may differ; for this model, the Ukrainian defense industry has already developed four combat modules. We are talking about combat modules "Thunder", "Shkval", BM-7 "Parus" and BAU-23-2. The most simple is the last module, which is two 23-mm automatic cannons 2A7M, providing a maximum rate of fire of 850 rounds per minute. The ammunition load of the module is 200 rounds, an additional 7, 62-mm PKT machine gun with an ammunition load of 2000 rounds is installed.
More interesting are the modules "Thunder" and "Shkval", which received ATGMs to fight the main battle tanks of the enemy. The main armament of the "Thunder" module with the removed armament is a 30-mm automatic cannon ZTM-2 (analogous to the Russian 2A42), a 30-mm automatic grenade launcher AG-17 and a 62-mm machine gun KT-7, 62 paired with a gun 7, 62-mm machine gun. module contains 4 ATGM 9M113 "Competition" or "Barrier". The Shkval module also has a 30-mm automatic cannon, paired with a 7.62-mm machine gun, but we are talking about the ZTM-1 gun (an analogue of the Russian 2A72 cannon, installed on the BTR-82). It is also possible to either install 4 ATGM "Barrier", or instead of two anti-tank missiles, a 30-mm automatic grenade launcher is installed.
The most advanced is the remotely controlled remote combat module BM-7 "Parus", which, thanks to the removed ammunition load and remote control, provides increased protection for the crew. The module is distinguished by the presence of a 30-mm automatic cannon (it is possible to install both ZTM-1 and ZTM-2), a 30-mm automatic grenade launcher and a 7.62-mm PKT machine gun. Also on the module there is a complex of guided weapons - ATGM "Barrier" (4 ATGM ammunition, maximum missile range - 5500 meters). Gun ammunition - up to 400 shells, machine gun - 2000 rounds, automatic grenade launcher - 175 grenades.
