According to the Dunya Turkish newspaper, the Turkish defense minister Ismet Yilmaz has announced the purchase by Tunisia of Turkish-made MRAP "Kirpi". He also said that the Turkish Company BMC will restart the production of the Kirpi. BMC was declared bankrupt and confiscated by TMSF (Savings Deposit Insurance Fund of Turkey) in May 2013 after its parent company Cukurova Holding failed to meet certain financial obligations.
BMC is the manufacturer of the Kirpi, a mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicle. The Kirpi is the country’s first locally designed and developed MRAP.
Last year, the Turkish Armed Forces terminated a contract with BMC for the acquisition of 468 Kirpi. Under a 2009 contract with the Turkish government, BMC produced and delivered an initial 293 Kirpi but failed to comply with the original delivery schedule.
The National Defense Ministry of Turkey had signed a deal in 2009 with BMC to produce 468 Kirpi and trucks in a range of sizes, to be delivered by the end of 2012. BMC has agreed to sell 468 Kirpi, armored vehicles, to Turkish defense ministry, but due to its financial problems the production is still 175 Kirpi behind.
The BMC Kirpi was presented for the first time to the public during the Defense Exhibition in France, Euroastory in 2010.
The Kirpi of Turkish army is equipped with one small open roof cupola with foldable protective walls armed with a 7.62 mm machine gun.
The hull of the Kirpi is made in steel armor, which give a protection up to Stanag 4569 Level 3. The bottom part is protected against grenades and land mines up to Stanag 4569 Level 3b. The Kirpi is a vehicle from the MRAP (Mine Protected Armoured vehicle) category.http://www.armyrecognition.com/
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