NEWTOWN, Conn. - According to officials from the Turkish Ministry of Defense and reports by Defense News, the Turkish Army's long beleaguered procurement contract for Kirpi MRAP armored vehicles is at last expected to reach its conclusion within the first half of 2015.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense ordered a total of 473 Kirpi MRAP vehicles in 2009 from Turkish defense and automotive contractor BMC. The new vehicles are intended to buttress the Turkish Army's ability to confront the threat posed by improvised explosive devices and other unconventional dangers and to improve the overall standard of survivability across Turkey's armored vehicle fleet.
However, production of the new vehicles quickly fell behind schedule with the embattled BMC plagued by inefficiencies and management problems on the part of its parent company, Cukurova Holding.
By 2013, only 293 of the over 400 vehicles on order had been delivered to the Turkish Army, leaving significant gaps in the Army's operational capabilities and state of readiness.
In May of that year, the Turkish Government seized BMC from Cukurova Holdings for private sale after the parent company proved unable to repay its significant debts. BMC found itself fined with a $9.9 million penalty for failure to deliver the Kirpi MRAPs on schedule. Subsequently, the contractor was purchased for $370million by Turkish investment firm ES Mali Yatirim in May 2014.
With the company now undergoing an array of changes, BMC Officials now state that the remaining 141 Kirpi MRAPs should be delivered within the next six months. According to Defense News, the Turkish Ministry of Defense will pursue an alternative manufacturer for the remaining vehicles in the event delays persist moving forward.
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