BTR-82A
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Vehicle Info
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| Operators | Russian Ground Forces |
| Maps Available | Anvil, Belaya Pass, Chora, Fool's Road, Goose Bay, Gorodok, Jensen's, Kamdesh Highlands, Kohat Toi, Lashkar Valley, Manicouagan, Mestia, Mutaha, Nanisivik, Narva, Skorpo, Tallil Outskirts, Yehorivka |
The BTR-82A IFV is a Fire Support vehicle added to Squad during update A9. In 2013, the BTR-82A was adopted as the standard armored personnel carrier (APC) and infantry carrier vehicle (ICV) of the Russian Ground Forces (RGF), alongside with the BTR-82AM APC (regular BTR-80 APC that are upgraded and modernized to the BTR-82A's level). The BTR-82A is the latest modern variant of the BTR-80 APC. The vehicles combination of high mobility and speed, weak armor, and a relatively low-powered automatic cannon makes it one of the less deadly vehicles in Squad.
Statistics
General Information
The BTR-82A is the latest 8-wheel APC and ICV modern variant of the BTR-80 APC. It was designed by the Arzamas Machinery Plant in 2009 and then later adopted into the RGF in 2013 as the standard armored personnel carrier (APC) and infantry carrier vehicle (ICV), alongside with the BTR-82AM APC. The BTR-82A is mostly used by the RGF but offers were made by the Belarusian and Bangladeshi governments to add them to their own arsenals. BTR-82A production ceased in 2015 and was replaced with the BTR-82AM modernization program which overhauls and upgrades existing BTR-80 APCs.
The BTR-82A weighs over 16 metric tons, is 24.87 ft (7.58 m) long, 9.79 ft (2.985 m) wide, and 8.94 ft (2.725 m) tall. The BTR-82A can be driven by 3 crew members and can hold up to 7 passengers. The BTR-82A has more better armor than the BTR-80 in that it has improved laminate armor along the bottom of the hull as well as spall liners along the interior walls and ceiling and a ballistic mat is placed on the floor in each side of the troop compartment and possibly under the troop seats, likely with the same effect as the spall liner. The commander's and gunner's sights were replaced with more capable systems. The gunner's searchlight was replaced with a PL-1, and later an LP-1 infrared spectrum pulse laser searchlight. The vehicle has a more powerful 300-hp and fuel efficient engine, increasing its cruising range from at least 600-km to at least 700-km. The BTR-82A is fitted with the powerful 30mm 2A72 cannon as its armament. This vehicle can reach up to a speed of 49.71 mph (80 km/h).
Gameplay
The BTR-82A is only used by one faction, the RGF. The BTR-82A is one of the least powerful vehicles in Squad, as of V12.2 and is generally considered a waste of tickets unless enemy team have already lost all of their vehicles. 30mm 2A72 automatic cannon in patch Alpha 12.2 struggles to destroy the lightest of vehicles, even including trucks.
- The BTR-82A is fitted with the not-so-destructive 2A72 30mm cannon, which can fire armor-piercing rounds or high explosive ones, making it only effective against infantry at the ranges where the vehicle itself is relatively safe from light AT operators or other vehicles. The high fire rate means it can saturate an area fairly quickly.
- Although the cannon's armour piercing rounds can instantly kill enemy players with just one shot, regardless of wherever the shot hits, it should only be used against enemy players as last resort as attempting to snipe enemy players with AP is generally considered a waste of ammunition as 30mm armour pierching rounds are designed to be used against enemy armor and not against enemy infantry. Players using the cannon should be reminded to carefully fire in short bursts and to use the high-explosive rounds against infantry.
- It is generally not advised to use this vehicle for anything than short and decisive troop movement, because its lack of armour or general disability to damage enemy vehicles beyond light scratches makes it an easy way to waste valuable tickets.
- Match-up against M2A3 Bradley is always going to end up with BTR-82A destroyed, provided a Bradleys crew can asses the situation quick enough to start firing back. In most cases, Bradley is going to actively hunt the BTR-82A, and unfortunately, due to lack of other armored vehicles besides tanks, Russian Ground Forces in Squad cannot realistically do anything about it. It is recommended to only engage infantry, or not using the vehicle for anything except troop transport, because this is where the BTR-82A shows its only good side.
- Match-up against FV510 Warrior has more chances for the BTR-82A to survive due to the fact that the Warrior lacks turret and commanders visor stabilization. Still, 30mm 2A72 automatic cannon of the BTR-82A can only severely damage the Warrior, but not outright kill it when firing at its sides and rear. Relatively low stability while driving allows the Warrior to easily turn around on the spot and present its frontal armor, which is virtually impenetrable.
- Match-up against FV432 Bulldog is in BTR-82As favor only if the Bulldogs crew consists of 2 or less soldiers, because of its open-top turret that can easily be penetrated by the 30mm automatic cannon. M2 Brawning on that turret is still extremely deadly, and can melt the BTR-82A by firing into any area of its hull and an unmanned turret module.
- The BTR-82A is referred to by the community as the 30mm, which is named after the 2A72 30mm cannon it has.
- The 30mm cannon has excellent range. When given a good line of sight and a competent gunner, it can easily harass light vehicles like logistic and transport trucks at great distances.
- Armed with 2 charges of 40mm smoke grenades. Remember they exist, they could save your life.
Media
Trivia
- BTR stands for Bronetransporter (бронетранспортер) which in English from Russian is "Armored Personnel Carrier". The number 82 strangely does not represent the year the BTR-82A or its parent, the BTR-82, was created, since both of these vehicles have been created in the 21st century. A stands for "Automatic" meaning automatic cannon as the main armament of the vehicle. IFV stands for Infantry Fighting Vehicle.
- The BTR-82A's ticket value was previously 40 but was decreased by 28 tickets in the Alpha v9.4 update.
- BTR-82As 30mm 2A72 automatic cannon was considered the strongest weapon in the game at the time of its release in version Alpha 9. High-Explosive ammunition of the gun had an unhealthy radius of splash damage, and could damage any vehicle present in the game at the time (mainly Stryker APC as its direct counterpart at the time)
- Said 30mm automatic cannon ammunition was quickly nerfed into the sorry state as of version Alpha 9.1. The gun itself also was changed to only fire in bursts instead of realistic and previously available full-auto mode.
- As of version Alpha 12, BTR-82A and BTR-80 are considered by community as the most useless vehicles in the game. Being on the same level of speed as Strykers and MRAPs, not being able to effectively engage or even ambush competent crews of other even lightly-armoured vehicles, it is advised to not take this vehicle into direct combat, if you're not planning on transporting large amount of infantry.