Ukraine's New Armored Personnel Carrier Is a 1960s BTR-60 With All the Latest Tech
A new 'Khorunzhyi' keeps the BTR's drive-train and replaces almost everything else
In late January, the Bulgarian government began shipping to Ukraine the first of 100 surplus BTR-60 wheeled armored personnel carriers that Sofia pledged to Kyiv in 2023.
Now we know why Kyiv wanted the obsolete, 1960s-vintage APCs—despite their paper-thin armor that’s just nine millimeters thick at its thickest. The Ukrainians were prepared to deeply modernize the eight-wheel, 11-ton, 16-person vehicles.
All 100 BTR-60s arrived in Ukraine by March. And on Sept. 3, the Ukrainian ministry of defense announced it had approved production of a revamped BTR-60 it calls the Khorunzhy—“a substantially modernized version,” according to the ministry.
“By incorporating premium Finnish steel into the vehicle's body design, the Ukrainian APC now boasts better ballistic protection, all without a weight increase,” the ministry boasted. “The vehicle’s body is also fortified all around against 7.62-millimeter steel-core bullets and the front armor is designed to withstand shots from a heavy machine gun.”
“Special mine-resistant seats and hull-bottom design safeguard the troops from blast effects equivalent to six kilograms of TNT,” the ministry added.
In the Khorunzhyi, a new 330-horsepower diesel engine replaces the BTR-60’s twin, 90-horsepower gasoline engines. A Khorunzhyi speeds along at 50 miles per hour and ranges as far as 300 miles on full tanks of fuel. That should represent a small improvement over the BTR-60.
The Khorunzhyi has a rear ramp instead of side hatches, making it easier for infantry to mount and dismount. “The new APC is furnished with advanced electronics, video surveillance cameras, air conditioning and an autonomous generator that permits the vehicle to operate without the engine running.”
Where the BTR-60 came armed with a 14.5-millimeter heavy machine gun. The Khorunzhyi can retain that gun or swap in a 30-millimeter cannon.
There are six versions of the new APC: a heavily-armed fighting vehicle, a lightly-armed personnel carrier, an ambulance, repair and command-and-control vehicles and a self-propelled mortar.
A hundred Khorunzhyis could equip three battalions.
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