Sales of 279 armoured vehicles from Turkey to 9 countries in 2020

According to the data announced by the United Nations (UN) Register of Conventional Arms – UNROCA, 279 armoured vehicles were exported to 9 different countries by Turkish companies in 2020. According to the data, Turkey exported armoured vehicles to Asia, Africa, South America and Europe.

Countries to which Turkey exported armoured vehicles in 2019:

Turkey’s sales of 309 armored vehicles in 2018 fell by approximately 16% to 259 units in 2019. In 2020, 279 vehicles were exported (delivered) to 9 countries with an increase of 7.72% compared to 2019. In 2019, exports were made to 7 countries.

Additionally, the data includes the vehicles delivered, not the vehicles that the companies will deliver or the contract is signed. With 309 vehicles in 2018, Turkey’s armored vehicle exports reached the highest level of the last ten years. In 2019, there was a significant decrease with 259 vehicles. With the delivery of 279 vehicles in 2020, an increase in numbers has been recorded.

Vehicle Sales by Country

In the data released by UNROCA, company and vehicle names are not mentioned. According to the previously shared contract data, sales to various countries can be estimated.

In the past, Otokar exported Arma 6×6, Cobra and ZPT vehicles to Bahrain, which is in a remarkable position on the list. It is also estimated that Otokar has exported Cobra II vehicles to Bahrain, but there is no official statement on this subject.

Last year, the public opinion was informed that 12 Ejder TOMAs were exported to Chile. Although it is described as a means of intervention in social events, it is highly likely that it was reflected in the UN data as a wheeled type armoured personnel carrier.

Katmerciler signed a series of contracts with African countries in the past years, but it was not announced to which country it would be exported. The company delivered to Uganda last year. Katmerciler’s exports to Uganda are not included in the UN data. It is also unknown which vehicle was delivered to Ghana. Katmerciler and Otokar are two companies that may have exported to Ghana.

The Undersecretary of the Hungarian Ministry of Defence indicated that the first batch of Ejder Yalçın vehicles were received last year and a contract was signed for 40 more 4×4 vehicles. In other news in Hungarian sources, it was stated that negotiations were held regarding the local production of Nurol Makina vehicles in Hungary and even preliminary agreements were signed.

FNSS, on the other hand, had exported the FNSS PARS III TTZA (Tactical Wheeled Armoured Vehicle) by signing an export contract of more than half a billion dollars with Oman. It was reported that the deliveries within the context of the project were completed in 2020. It is known that FNSS has exported 172 8×8 and 6×6 PARS III TTZAs in total.

Ejder Yalçın and Yörük TTZAs were exported to Qatar by Nurol Makina in the past years. In August 2020, a contract was signed to procure an undisclosed amount of armoured vehicles for the Qatar Army again. It is not known under which contract the delivered vehicles are covered.

Within the context of the Military Financial Cooperation between Turkey and Somalia, the Ministry of National Defence shared on its official Twitter account on 31 August 2020 that 12 Kirpi mine-resistant armoured personnel carrier vehicles produced for the Somalian army were delivered.

In previous years, 40 Kirpi mine and ambush protected vehicles were exported to Tunisia by BMC. Tunisia, which was exposed to various attacks by Al-Qaeda, was extremely pleased with the protection level of the vehicles and made an additional order for 100 more, thus thus, the total number of exported systems was 140. Apart from Kirpi, the Ejder Yalçın vehicle was previously exported to Tunisia. It was not officially announced how many Ejder Yalçıns were exported, but it was stated in various sources that 70 were ordered.

Within the context of a 150 million dollar package agreement signed with Tunisia, TUSAŞ’s ANKA-S unmanned aerial vehicles, BMC’s Kirpi and Nurol Makina’s Ejder Yalçın armoured vehicles, Katmerciler tank carriers and tankers, various vehicles such as Aselsan electro-optical systems were declared to be in service of Tunisian Security Forces.

Rabdan TTZA, developed over Otokar Arma 8×8 TTZA, was exported to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a 661 million dollar contract. Although it was stated that deliveries started in 2018, it was not included in the UNROCA data. In a statement made by an Otokar official in 2018, it was reported that the project covers a total of 700 vehicles, and the first batch covers 100. In the 2019 reports, there was information that 55 vehicles were delivered to the UAE.