MOSCOW. Feb 11 (Interfax) - The chassis of the BTR-82 armored personnel carrier makes it possible to mount a Sosna air defense missile system on the vehicle, Military Industrial Company General Director Alexander Krasovitsky told Interfax on Thursday, adding that it will be done.
"Such an option is being considered. A prototype has been built. The BTR-82 chassis makes it possible to place the combat unit of a Sosna shorter-range missile defense system on it. I am certain that this project will be put into practice in the near future," Krasovitsky said.
Krasovitsky told Interfax earlier that Military Industrial Company is carrying out an upgrade of wheeled armored personnel carriers of the BTR-80/82A family because the potential of these vehicles has not yet been exhausted. The company's designers are exploring different options to modernize this family of armored personnel carriers, including equipping them with more advanced combat modules, thus making them better protected.
The Sosna air defense missile system can be used against all airborne threats, including cruise and guided air-launched missiles at a distance of up to ten kilometers and at an altitude of up to five kilometers.
The system is equipped with 12 Sosna-R precision-guided surface-to-air missiles that can fly at a top speed of up to 900 meters per second.
As reported earlier, this missile defense system confirmed its capability to engage both airborne and ground targets during testing.