Turkey orders 529 Kirpi 4x4 MRAP vehicles 81008175

August 2017 Global Defence & Security Industry - Military - Army News
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Defense & Security News - Turkey
 

Turkey orders 529 Kirpi 4x4 mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles
The Turkish defense procurement agency, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM), awarded a contract to local armored vehicle manufacturer BMC on August 8 for the order of 529 Kirpi 4x4 tactical wheeled armored vehicles.
     
The Turkish defense procurement agency, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM), awarded a contract to local armored vehicle manufacturer BMC on August 8 for the order of 529 Kirpi 4x4 tactical wheeled armored vehicles.
     
The estimated $350 million order also includes procurement of an unspecified number of Yeni Kirpi models, the advanced variant of the Kirpi mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicle that BMC exhibited at the IDEF military show in Istanbul back in May. Turkey ordered the original Kirpi variant in 2009, but in November 2014 the SSM penalized BMC $10 million due to delivery delays related to its 468-unit order.

The latest batch is intended for deployment in the country's security-sensitive southeastern region where the Turkish Armed Forces are battling Kurdish insurgents. Prime contractor BMC is partly owned by a close friend of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as a 50 percent stake held by a Qatari investment fund.