It was officially accepted into military service with the Russian Ground Forces in 2002.

[2] The standard KamAZ-5350 has a payload capacity of 6,000 kg and has the ability to tow trailers or artillery pieces.

Additional armor can be fitted to the cabin to increase protection for the crew inside.

[2] The KamAZ-5350-379 was used by Russian forces in an armoured personnel carrier role in Syria.

One of the variants used was fitted with the MM-501 modular armoured compartment for passengers with eight firing ports and two roof hatches.