{"id":20683,"date":"2017-08-09T01:14:20","date_gmt":"2017-08-09T01:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/08\/09\/bmc-landsturkish-contract-to-sell-529-vehicles\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:51:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:51:11","slug":"bmc-landsturkish-contract-to-sell-529-vehicles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2017\/08\/09\/bmc-landsturkish-contract-to-sell-529-vehicles\/","title":{"rendered":"BMC lands Turkey contract to sell 529 vehicles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ANKARA \u2014 BMC, a leading Turkish armored vehicles maker, signed Aug. 8 a contract with the Turkish government to produce and sell a total of 529 tactical wheeled armored vehicles, the government said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey\u2019s defense procurement agency, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM), said that BMC would act as the prime contract in the program for the procurement of 529 armored vehicles, meaning the company would be expected to work with other local companies designated as sub-contractors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SSM said: \u201cThe program aims to meet the Turkish Armed Forces\u2019 requirements in areas where it intensively fights terror.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statement means the planned vehicles would be deployed mostly in Turkey\u2019s southeastern provinces where the Turkish military fights Kurdish insurgents. The fighting, which began in 1984 and has since taken up more than 40,000 lives, resumed after the Kurdish fighters, designated as terrorists by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union, ended their unilateral ceasefire in July 2015. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A procurement source familiar with the contract said that the deal was worth \u201cover 300 million euros,\u201d or about $350 million. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SSM said that the contract also involves procurement from BMC of an unspecified number of the Yeni Kirpi, an advanced version of the Kirpi, BMC\u2019s mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle which was showcased in May 2017 at the IDEF defense and aerospace exhibition in Istanbul. <\/p>\n\n\n\t