Ukraine has become an arms exporter globally, despite being a nation invaded and under siege. Going back to the year 2007, the BTR-3E1 was an upgraded version of the BTR-3U from Ukraine’s Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau (KMDB). Ukraine’s KMDB partnered with multiple foreign companies and countries to sell the BTR-3E1 globally. 

Thailand, a key nation in the Indo-Pacific, ordered at least 96 of these armored vehicles in 2007 and received that order in 2009-10. Bangkok has since ordered an additional 200 units.

The BTR-3E1 is an essential element of the Royal Thai Army (RTA). It is an armored personnel carrier (APC) on an eight-by-eight chassis. This system provides critical protection and firepower (as well as transportation) for infantry. Because of its mobility and armor, it serves in multiple combat roles including patrols.

These platforms are key elements for Thailand’s border security policies along their unstable border with neighboring Cambodia. 

While the BTR-3E1’s armor is not as thick as the armor of a main battle tank (MBT), it has steel armor with

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