Nurol Ejder TTZA 6x6 APC from Turkiye keeps servicing in Georgian army.

In spite of its already long ‘career’ in the Georgian army, theTurkish-made Nurol Makina Ejder TTZA (Taktik Tekerlekli Zırhlı Araç - Tactical Wheeled Armored Vehicle) 6x6 remains in service and there is no sign it will be replaced in the near future.
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Ejder 6x6 APC (Picture source: Nurol Makina)

As recalled by Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans in oryxspioenkop.com, the Ejder, meaning dragon in Turkish, was designed and produced by Nurol Makina that base dits 6x6 vehicle on the Soviet BTR-series of APCs. The creation of an entirely new APC by Nurol utilizing the technological know-how gained by developing the RN-94 led to the creation of the Ejder 6x6. In neighboring Georgia, President Mikheil Saakashvili began investing large sums of money into reequipping the Georgian armed forces with modern equipment from 2004 onwards in anticipation of a possible conflict with Russia over the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. This included anything from Israeli Spyder SAM systems and LAR-160 MRLs to Hermes-450 UAVs, but also some 100 Turkish Cobra IMVs. These systems would do little to stop the Russian invasion that started in August 2008, Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans write.

Shortly after its defeat, Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans recall, Georgia began reequipping once more to replace the losses suffered during the 12-day war, and to expand on its capabilities to deal with future threats. The most significant acquisition of this period was some 72 Ejder 6x6 APCs from Nurol Makina to supplement and later replace the BTR-70 and BTR-80 series of wheeled APCs in service with the Georgian Land Forces and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. The highly-mobile Ejders fitted well in the Georgian doctrine of mobile warfare, operating alongside the homegrown Didgori IMVs.

The Ejder 6x6 TTZA (Taktik Tekerlekli Zırhlı Araç - Tactical Wheeled Armored Vehicle) has a weight of 18 tonnes, a top road speed of 110km/h, and an operational range of some 800km. Only the first and second axles are steered. The Ejder's hull is made of hardened steel which offers all-around protection against small arms fire and artillery fragments (add-on armour for higher ballistic protection is available but wasn't acquired by Georgia). The V-shaped hull protects the crew of 2 and up to 10 passengers against the blast effect of mines and IEDs. Six smoke grenade dischargers (three on each side of the hull) can be used to temporarily mask the vehicle's location, providing an additional form of protection. Additionally, the Ejder comes equipped with two water jets located at the rear of the vehicle to overcome any water obstacles at a speed of 9km/h.

The armament of the Ejder 6x6 consists of a remotely controlled 7.62mm or 12.7mm machine gun or a 40mm grenade launcher, the latter equipping the vehicles in service with Georgia. The Ejder can also be fitted with a number of other remotely controlled turret-mounted weapons with a caliber of up to 90mm.

Ejder 6x6 APC in Georgian livery (Picture source: Georgian army)

Ejder 6x6 APC in Georgian livery (Picture source: Georgian army)