US offers M1117 ASVs 4x4 armored vehicles to Kosovo army.

According to the Defense Ministry of Kosovo, the U.S. has delivered at least five M1117 Armored Security Vehicles, Novosti reports. The armored vehicles were transferred last week, but this was reported only now. Kosovo Defense Minister Armen Mehaj examined the supplied armored personnel carriers at the Skenderbeu military base.
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U.S. Army National Guard M1117 Armored Security Vehicles at Fort Stewart, Georgia in June 2010. (Picture source: Wikipedia)

Kosovo does not disclose information on the number and timing of the delivery of armored vehicles, apparently by order of Washington. At least five M1117 ASVs were delivered. The Kosovo Defense Minister personally stated that the equipment was donated free of charge and this is not the last delivery. According to the Albanian news agency Telegrafi, the Kosovo army intends to purchase additional weapons from the United States as part of the American program for military sales abroad, hence $ 5.3 million has been allocated for the implementation of three new projects.

The M1117 Guardian, also denoted Armored Security Vehicle (ASV), is an internal security vehicle based on the Cadillac Gage V-100 and V-150 Commando series. It was developed in the late 1990s for service with the U.S. Military Police. The first prototypes appeared in February 1997 and serial production of the M1117 commenced between 1999 and early 2000.

The M1117 was one of the first American military vehicles to be built on a specialized mine-resistant hull, and after 2001 was adopted in increasing numbers as a direct response to the threat posed by improvised explosive devices to US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its armament consists of a Mk 19 grenade launcher and M2HB Browning machine gun, mounted in a turret similar to that used on the United States Marine Corps' Amphibious Assault Vehicle; and an M240H Medium Machine Gun mounted outside the gunner's hatch. The vehicle was utilized by American military police and convoy security units in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is a more heavily protected and heavily armed alternative to the armored Humvee which was not originally designed to be a protected fighting vehicle. In 2015 Textron Systems rebranded the M1117 as the Commando, bringing back the name of the V-100 and V-150, from which the M1117 was derived.