The 42nd Mechanized Brigade Receives Ukrainian-Made BTR-4 APCs

The 42nd Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Hero of Ukraine Valerii Hudzi has received Ukrainian-made BTR-4E armored personnel carriers.

A video of training exercises with the new APCs was released by the press service of the brigade’s 3rd Mechanized Battalion.

According to the servicemen, the personnel of the 3rd Mechanized Battalion continue intensive training on the BTR-4E, as the new equipment requires precision and confidence.

The published video shows soldiers practicing driving maneuvers at a training ground, conducting live-fire exercises, and engaging targets both during the day and at night. It can also be seen that the new BTR-4 vehicles are delivered with a standard set of additional protective screens designed to protect against shaped-charge munitions.

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It is reported that as of late January, units of the 42nd Brigade were involved in the defense of the village of Novopavlivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

At that time, the enemy attempted a rapid breakthrough toward the positions of the Defense Forces, relying on the mobility of light motorized vehicles. However, they were detected in time by reconnaissance drones, and after a two-hour assault, the enemy retreated, losing more than 40 assault troops killed.

BTR-4

The Ukrainian armored personnel carrier was developed in the mid-2000s and has been supplied to the Defense Forces of Ukraine since 2014. It is designed to transport eight soldiers and provide them with fire support during combat.

An entire family of vehicles has been created on its chassis, including a commander’s version, a command-and-staff vehicle, a medical vehicle, a repair and recovery vehicle, and a self-propelled 120 mm mortar system.

The vehicle’s standard armament is the BM-7 Parus combat module, which is equipped with a 30 mm ZTM-1 automatic cannon, a 30 mm automatic grenade launcher, and a 7.62 mm tank machine gun.

This configuration allows it to effectively engage targets on the battlefield and, in the event of a malfunction with the main gun, continue fighting using the other weapons. The system also provides for the installation of anti-tank guided missiles, though they are used extremely rarely in practice.

The vehicle’s armor can withstand hits of 12.7 mm caliber rounds in the frontal projection. To counter shaped-charge munitions, the armored personnel carrier is routinely equipped with anti-cumulative slat armor, which can be installed or removed depending on the mission.

In 2024, it was announced that the production of domestically made BTR-4 armored personnel carriers continues despite Russia’s full-scale invasion.