The Soviets removed the roof chamfers of the modified BTR-70, raised the rear, and squared off the rearward-sloping engine compartment.

Standard equipment includes TNPO vision blocks, TNP-B and TKN-3 optical devices for the driver and commander, an OU-3GA2M infrared search light, six 81 mm smoke grenade launchers 902V "Tucha", a radioset (R-173 or R-163-50U), an intercom, and hydrojets for amphibious propulsion.

Its armor scheme in high-hardness steel is as follows:[citation needed] In 1984, the Soviets began production of a diesel-engined variant of the BTR-70, which they called the BTR-80.

The 30mm Cannon variants are effective against most targets apart from main battle tanks, against which they can still cause significant damage to optics, weapons, and important systems.

operator or commander can monitor the environment and attack the detected targets using the existing machine gun.

[35] The BTR-80 version is equipped with a new turret with a 7.62 mm machine gun, an Eleron-3SV unmanned aerial vehicle with a 5 km range, new optical and infrared bands observation device TKN-4S and a "Kredo-1" radar.

[36][37][38][39][40] Nevertheless, the recognized Ukrainian involvement in the armament (ZTM-2 cannon) and the strong visual resemblance to BTR-3 hints us to state that it is (at least a derivative of) a BTR-3.