Türkiye’s Nurol Makina Presents Combat-Ready 4x4 Armored Vehicles for NATO Battlefield Operations.

Nurol Makina used SAHA 2026 in Istanbul to showcase three armored vehicle configurations designed for the same battlefield reality: moving troops, weapons and medical teams through environments shaped by mines, drones, ambushes and indirect fire. In a video interview conducted during the exhibition held from May 5 to 9, 2026, the Turkish manufacturer highlighted the NMS-EWB, NMS-L and Ejder Yalçın as mission-tailored solutions that expand tactical mobility while maintaining protection across different combat roles and operational tempos.

The heavier NMS-EWB increases troop and payload capacity for frontline deployments, while the lighter NMS-L prioritizes rapid maneuverability for mobile operations and dispersed forces. Nurol Makina also presented the Ejder Yalçın in ambulance configuration, reinforcing the growing battlefield demand for protected multi-role platforms capable of supporting casualty evacuation, command, reconnaissance, air defense and counter-IED missions in modern high-threat environments.

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Nurol Makina presents its NMS-EWB, NMS-L 4x4 and Ejder Yalçin ambulance at SAHA 206 in Istanbul, highlighting Türkiye's expanding range of protected 4x4 armored vehicles for troop transport, reconnaissance, fire support, medical evacuation and export markets (Picture source: Army Recognition Group).

The NMS-EWB is the most personnel-oriented vehicle in the display. The extended wheelbase version increases internal volume compared with the shorter NMS and is presented by Nurol Makina as a vehicle able to carry up to 11 personnel, which places it closer to a compact armored personnel carrier than a simple patrol vehicle. This matters for units that must move a full section with equipment while avoiding the weight, cost and logistical footprint of a 6x6 or 8x8 wheeled armored vehicle. The NMS family includes run-flat tires, hydraulic-assisted steering, gun loops on both sides, built-in radio infrastructure, internal communication, front and rear cameras, day/night vision options, a 360-degree driver vision system, smoke grenade launchers, CTIS, self-recovery equipment, CBRN protection, fire suppression and an explosion-proof, puncture-resistant fuel tank. Its mobility data are also concrete: up to 90 cm fording, 70 percent gradient, 40 percent side slope, 0.9 m trench crossing and 0.5 m vertical obstacle crossing.

The armament options explain why the NMS-EWB should not be viewed only as a troop carrier. Nurol Makina lists integration of manual weapon mounts or remote-controlled weapon stations, including 7.62 mm machine guns, 12.7 mm heavy machine guns, 40 mm grenade launchers, air defense systems and anti-tank weapon systems. A 7.62 mm weapon is suited to routine patrol, checkpoint security and suppression of exposed infantry at shorter ranges. A 12.7 mm heavy machine gun gives the crew a useful response against light vehicles, firing positions and low walls. A 40 mm automatic grenade launcher changes the tactical effect because it can engage troops behind cover, in defilade or inside compounds. Anti-tank guided missile integration would allow a small wheeled vehicle team to cover likely armored approaches, while a short-range air defense fit would give convoy or base-defense units a mobile counter to helicopters, low-flying aircraft and some unmanned aerial threats, depending on the missile and sensor package selected by the customer.

The NMS-L addresses a different requirement: a lighter 4x4 armored vehicle for reconnaissance, escort, special operations support, forward observation, border patrol and quick reaction tasks where speed and lower visual mass are more important than carrying a full infantry section. Nurol Makina gives the NMS-L a crew capacity of up to five, full independent suspension, STANAG 4569-based ballistic, mine and IED protection, run-flat tires, CTIS, five-point seat belts, four side doors and one rear door. Published performance figures include 150 km/h maximum speed on paved roads, 120 km/h on unpaved roads, 700 km range at 70 km/h, 8 m or less turning radius, 0.9 m fording, 70 percent gradient, 40 percent side slope, 0.9 m trench crossing and 0.5 m obstacle crossing. Those figures describe a vehicle designed less for holding ground and more for rapid movement between dispersed positions, especially where small units must move under observation and limit exposure time.

The NMS-L’s weapons integration is particularly relevant because it reflects a shift in the light armored vehicle market. The vehicle has been shown with manual open turret and remote weapon station options, as well as a configuration fitted with a remote-controlled turret armed with a 30 mm weapon system. A 30 mm weapon on a five-person 4x4 creates a different tactical category from a vehicle armed only with a 7.62 mm or 12.7 mm gun: it can defeat many light armored vehicles, damage field fortifications, engage technical vehicles at standoff distance and provide direct fire for reconnaissance or raiding elements. The vehicle has also been associated with Ilgar loitering munition launchers, with a munition weight of 1.5 kg, launcher weight of 2 kg, cruising speed of 120 km/h, more than 20 km effective range, 15 minutes endurance, terminal speed up to 160 km/h and a 400 g multipurpose warhead claimed to defeat 200 mm RHA. This combination gives a light 4x4 crew both line-of-sight firepower and a limited beyond-line-of-sight strike option, although ammunition load, sensor integration and command authorization procedures would determine its real battlefield utility.

The Ejder Yalçın ambulance displayed at SAHA 2026 highlights a less visible but operationally critical part of protected mobility: casualty evacuation under threat. In current conflicts, medical evacuation vehicles must cross the same roads exposed to mines, artillery fragments, ambushes and drones as combat vehicles. An armored ambulance based on Ejder Yalçın allows medical personnel to reach wounded troops with better protection than a soft-skinned ambulance, while keeping the same automotive and protection baseline as other vehicles in the unit. The ambulance variant is configured for emergency medical intervention and can be adapted to carry stretcher and seated patients depending on the internal layout. The broader Ejder Yalçın family is also more mature than a single medical variant. Nurol Makina identifies command and control, anti-tank guided missile, air defense missile, radar, personnel carrier, border surveillance, armored combat, jammer, ambulance, surveillance and reconnaissance, mine and IED detection, clearance, and CBRN roles. The company says the family is available in up to 16 or 17 configurations, which indicates that the vehicle is being used as a common protected chassis for different mission kits rather than as one fixed combat vehicle.

The mortar configuration shows the upper end of Ejder Yalçın’s fire-support role. The Ejder Yalçın mortar vehicle carries a 120 mm mortar on a dedicated mount, with semi-automatic ammunition loading, ammunition storage and fire control systems, and the configuration has been integrated with ASELSAN’s Alkar 120 mm mortar system. This is tactically significant because a 120 mm mortar gives battalion and company-level commanders a mobile indirect-fire asset that can support infantry, commando, motorized infantry and mechanized infantry units without relying immediately on towed mortars or heavier self-propelled howitzers. The value is not only firepower but displacement: a wheeled mortar vehicle can fire, relocate and reduce exposure to counter-battery fire, loitering munitions and artillery-locating radars.

From an export and force-structure perspective, the figures given in the interview are as important as the vehicles themselves. Around 1,000 Ejder Yalçın vehicles in 13 countries and more than 2,000 Nurol Makina vehicles in over 20 countries indicate that the company is competing in the segment where many armies are replacing unarmored trucks, older patrol vehicles and legacy internal-security vehicles with protected 4x4 armored vehicles. This demand is driven by two pressures: the spread of mines and IEDs in internal security and border operations, and the need for small units to carry heavier sensors, radios, jammers, remote weapons and drones. The NMS-EWB, NMS-L and Ejder Yalçın do not answer that requirement in the same way, which is the point of the portfolio. The NMS-EWB maximizes protected carrying capacity in a 4x4 format; the NMS-L emphasizes speed, payload and compact firepower; Ejder Yalçın provides a heavier mission chassis for ambulance, missile, command, electronic warfare and mortar roles.