Kenya acquiring almost 120 new armored personnel carriers from Turkey
The country needs the APCs to help ensure the survivability of Kenyan troops deployed in the fight against al-Shabaab terrorist militants from Somalia
Eyal Boguslavsky
| 27/01/2021
The Hizir. Photo: Katmerciler
Kenyan news website The Star reports that Kenya’s Department of Defense has approved the procurement of 118 Hizir armored personnel carriers from Turkey at a price of nearly $70 million.
Kenyan Defense Forces spokeswoman Colonel Zipporah Kioko told the website this week that the East African country is focused on ensuring the survivability of its troops deployed in the fight against al-Shabaab terrorist militants from Somalia, hence the need to procure 118 new armored personnel carriers (APCs).
Kioko said "The Kenyan Army made a critical assessment and established that the contemporary operating environment has evolved significantly with major threats to the APCs being Vehicle Borne IEDs (VBIEDs), directional IEDs and IEDs (improvised explosive devices) reinforced with complex ambushes." She added that, from a pool of three firms that had applied to supply Kenyans with the APCs, only the Turkish company Katmerciler met all the necessary requirements with its Hizir, beating two other contenders from South Africa and North America.
The Hizir, a 4x4 armored vehicle fully designed and manufactured by the Turkish company, was launched in 2016. It was developed according to NATO standards and approved by a foreign independent test institution after passing all performance and blast explosion tests. It can be used in various configurations such as combat vehicle, command and control vehicle, CBRN, weapon carrier (with easy integration of various weapon systems), ambulance, border security, and reconnaissance. The vehicle can accommodate nine military personnel including driver and commander, the report said.
According to The Star, the current APC fleet in the Kenyan Army consists of Puma M26-15, WMZ 551BSI, Mamba MK5, Bastion and CS/VP 14 vehicles, all introduced into service between 2010 and 2019. It added that all of them have been deployed in the country and in Somalia to address security threats, but a significant number have been rendered inoperable due to the changing threat environment.
The country needs the APCs to help ensure the survivability of Kenyan troops deployed in the fight against al-Shabaab terrorist militants from Somalia
The Hizir. Photo: Katmerciler
Kenyan news website The Star reports that Kenya’s Department of Defense has approved the procurement of 118 Hizir armored personnel carriers from Turkey at a price of nearly $70 million.
Kenyan Defense Forces spokeswoman Colonel Zipporah Kioko told the website this week that the East African country is focused on ensuring the survivability of its troops deployed in the fight against al-Shabaab terrorist militants from Somalia, hence the need to procure 118 new armored personnel carriers (APCs).
Kioko said "The Kenyan Army made a critical assessment and established that the contemporary operating environment has evolved significantly with major threats to the APCs being Vehicle Borne IEDs (VBIEDs), directional IEDs and IEDs (improvised explosive devices) reinforced with complex ambushes." She added that, from a pool of three firms that had applied to supply Kenyans with the APCs, only the Turkish company Katmerciler met all the necessary requirements with its Hizir, beating two other contenders from South Africa and North America.
The Hizir, a 4x4 armored vehicle fully designed and manufactured by the Turkish company, was launched in 2016. It was developed according to NATO standards and approved by a foreign independent test institution after passing all performance and blast explosion tests. It can be used in various configurations such as combat vehicle, command and control vehicle, CBRN, weapon carrier (with easy integration of various weapon systems), ambulance, border security, and reconnaissance. The vehicle can accommodate nine military personnel including driver and commander, the report said.
According to The Star, the current APC fleet in the Kenyan Army consists of Puma M26-15, WMZ 551BSI, Mamba MK5, Bastion and CS/VP 14 vehicles, all introduced into service between 2010 and 2019. It added that all of them have been deployed in the country and in Somalia to address security threats, but a significant number have been rendered inoperable due to the changing threat environment.
