Libyan National Army uses TAG Terrier LT-79 armored personnel carriers

January 2020 Global Defense Security army news industry
Posted On

The Libyan National Army (LNA) has taken into service The Armoured Group (TAG) Terrier LT-79 armored personnel carrier in its latest acquisition of foreign-supplied vehicles.

Libyan National Army uses TAG Terrier LT 79 armored personnel carriers 925 001
TAG LT-79 Terrier APCs in Lybian National Army service (Picture source: Twitter Mohamed Mansour)

Despite the UN arms embargo, the American armored vehicle manufacturer TAG and its Libyan partner Ismail Al-Shtewi supplied several LT-79 Terriers to rebel Libyan general Khalifa Haftar, African Intelligence reports. The LNA's 106th Brigade took delivery of four units. The LNA’s 106th Brigade displayed at least eight in a video it released on 9 December of a Special Operations Force parade. The vehicles had no markings identifying their manufacturer or model type.

The standard Terrier LT-79 will hold up to eight officers (2+6 in individual MIL-STD seats) or alternatively, seating for 10 (2+8) with optional bench seating, depending on the size of operators and amount of gear. The vehicle is agile and extremely versatile and is designed to protect individuals in dangerous operational environments.

The Terrier LT-79 is built using a reinforced and militarized Toyota VDJ79 truck chassis, and COTS components. The vehicle can be built to B6 or NIJ-III protection standards and is powered by a 195 HP high sulfur 1VD-FTV Toyota 4.5L V8 diesel and readily available in LHD and RHD configurations.

The Libyan National Army in May 2019 announced it would impose a naval blockade on ports in west Libya to prevent any more shipments of military equipment reaching rival Government of National Accord (GNA) forces, which that month received dozens of armored vehicles and other arms from Turkey, including Turkish-built BMC Kirpi-2 4x4 armored personal carriers (see Kirpi-1's technical description) and several Vuran vehicles. Army Recognition already reported these deliveries.

During the same month, the LNA received Mbombe 6×6 armored vehicles from Jordan along with Jordanian-manufactured Al-Mared 8×8 vehicles, which are produced by the King Abdullah Design and Development Bureau (KADDB). Jordan has previously delivered other vehicles to Libya, namely 49 Nimr armored vehicles in 2013 and, in June 2018, a Jordanian-manufactured Al-Wahash 4×4 armored personnel carrier with a Jordanian Snake Head turret.