Russia's reliance on outdated BTR‑50 highlights military struggles

The Russians have been using the BTR-50 transporter in the fights in Ukraine since the 1950s. According to material published on the Forbes portal, this 70–year–old vehicle is an "ominous sign for Russia."

The Russians regularly showcase more "new" constructions in their arsenal. However, these are not always vehicles that have just left the factory. Often, they are simply modernizations of older vehicles – like the so-called turtle tank, which, although previously a problematic target for Ukrainians, eventually turned out to be a destructible object.

The Russian Federation sometimes reaches for ancient vehicles, which it pulls out from military warehouses and then sends to the front. This was the case, for example, with the recent transportation of several batches of T-62 tanks, which were spotted at the Kamensk-Uralsky railway station in Russia back in March. Today, much evidence confirms that the aggressor's army actively uses these unsuitable constructions for today's military industry standards.

Forbes notes that more vehicles have now appeared at the front, a bad sign for the Russian military. We are talking about the 70-year-old BTR-50 combat vehicles, which are "only slightly better than the golf carts some Russian troops ride in".

We read that the armoured vehicle from the last century "might not be the worst vehicle the Russian army has sent in a direct assault on Ukrainian positions, but it’s probably the oldest". Forbes points out that, in reality, the BTR-50 is still a better solution for ensuring crew safety than the Chinese golf carts that appeared at the front, but the presence of old BTRs exposes the Russians' problems.

"Without mechanized units fully equipped with proper combat vehicles like tanks, achieving swift and decisive penetration of defenses will be very challenging," explains the Ukrainian analytical group Frontelligence Insight. This limitation is supposed to cause "slower and more limited advances, hampering the overall progress of Russian forces."

The BTR-50s appearing at the front are supposed to signify the problems with the Russians' equipment. Additionally, units equipped with such vehicles are straightforward targets for Ukrainians.

Forbes also points out that the intensification of the use of these 70-year-old vehicles may indicate another problem for the Russians. Aid from the West for Ukraine is already on its way to the front, and therefore, the Russian Federation may plan to seize another territory before the support for Ukraine arrives. All weapons, including already outdated vehicles, are necessary to achieve this.

Let us recall that the BTR-50 was based on the light tank PT-76. It is powered by a diesel engine with 240 horsepower, which, combined with a 480-litre fuel tank, allows it to travel about 400 kilometres on a single refuel.

The vehicle's maximum speed is 43 kph. The armament—like the armour—in the case of the BTR-50 is far from today's military standards. A 7.62 mm SGMB machine gun provides defensive capabilities, while the armour is a maximum of 10 mm thick at the front and 10 mm on the sides. The minimum thickness is 6 mm (sides).