YEKATERINBURG, December 15. /TASS/. The 81st Armor Repair Factory (part of Uralvagonzavod defense manufacturer within the state tech corporation Rostec) delivered a batch of upgraded BTR-82AM armored personnel carriers to the troops, the Uralvagonzavod press office told TASS on Tuesday.

"Fourteen armored personnel carriers were dispatched after the major repairs and the upgrade of BTR-80 vehicles to the level of BTR-82AM for the needs of the Russian Defense Ministry under the defense procurement plan," the press office said in a statement.

The BTR-82AM is a heavy upgrade of BTR-80 and BTR-80A armored personnel carriers. It outperforms its predecessors actually by all characteristics. The BTR-82AM features a more powerful engine, a 30mm rapid-fire gun, a coaxial 7.62mm Kalashnikov modernized tank machine-gun and improved surveillance devices and sights.

Uralvagonzavod is a world leader in the armor and artillery production, the sole developer and manufacturer of the armor and its armament in Russia and a leader on the Russian railway equipment market.