[1] The BTR-70 was developed as a potential successor for the earlier BTR-60 series of Soviet wheeled armored personnel carriers, specifically the BTR-60PB, which it most closely resembled.

[3] In 1971, the Soviet Armed Forces began investigating the possibility of an updated BTR-60PB redesigned to make the vehicle more compatible with the BMP-1 in terms of tactical training.

[2] Despite retaining the original BTR-60PB chassis, the GAZ-50 incorporated several elements of the BMP's design, including similar seating arrangements in the passenger compartment.

[2] Furthermore, while the prototype would allow motorized units to emulate the tactics of Soviet mechanized infantry, it simply did not offer the same protection, mobility, and firepower of the BMP.

[2] Most of the funding earmarked for the program was thus diverted into producing larger numbers of BMPs instead, as well as ensuring their wider introduction beyond Soviet tank divisions.

[2] A second GAZ-50 prototype was built, designated Obiekt 60 mounting a 14.5mm machine gun in exactly the same turret as that carried by the BTR-60 series; this was accepted as a generic replacement for the BTR-60PB in motorized rifle regiments.

[2] As a result, in 1984 the Soviet Army took delivery of a new wheeled armored personnel carrier, the BTR-80, which was powered by a single 260 horsepower diesel engine and a simpler drive train.

[2] The Soviet Union only exported BTR-70s to four other states: Afghanistan, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Hungary, and Romania, which also purchased a license to manufacture the design locally.

[2] A very small quantity of BTR-70s were donated or sold to the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola in the mid-1980s by an undisclosed country; these saw action during the Angolan Civil War.