January 24, 2006: When the Stryker entered service in Iraq with it's slat armor "cage" (to protect against RPGs), there was some criticism, and some crude humor, directed at that particular rig. But the slat armor did the job, and now Russia is offering it's similar BTR-80 vehicle, equipped with slat armor. While the United States abandoned wheeled armored vehicles after World War II, Russia kept theirs, and constantly improved their BTR series. While not as heavy, or as high tech, as the American Stryker, the BTR vehicles are popular with many nations, especially for use by police and paramilitary forces. The current export model of the BTR-80, the BTR-90, is equipped with a turret and a 30mm auto-cannon and weighs about 16 tons. The BTR-80, introduced about twenty years ago, is actually more similar to the U.S. Marine Corps LAV, which entered service about the same time.
