Turkish army to get new batch of mine-resistant armoured vehicles

The Turkish Armed Forces will receive a new batch of Kirpi Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles in the next four months, the Zaman newspaper reported on Thursday.

Manufacturing of the armoured vehicles, which was carried out in Turkey by the private company BMC, was suspended for six months because the company could not get credit to carry on manufacturing.

However, BMC managed to get credit from one of the private banks after which the company started manufacturing the vehicles. After three or four months, the company plans to complete manufacturing 190.

BMC has manufactured 278 armoured vehicles since March 2009, when the company signed an agreement with the Turkish Armed Forces, until December 2011.

Kirpi MRAP can accommodate about 13 personnel. One of its properties is that it can move over any ground conditions and reach speeds of up to 105 kilometres per hour.

Turkey intends to use the Kirpi MRAP against militants of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party.
The conflict between Turkey and the PKK has lasted for over 25 years. The PKK is recognised as a terrorist organisation by both the UN and the EU.


/Trend/