Delivery of Turkey's domestically developed 8-by-8 military rescue vehicles completed
Tests on domestic M4K Partially Mine-Protected Recovery Vehicles were completed in January 2020. (AA Photo)


The delivery of the M4K Partially Mine-Protected Recovery Vehicles produced domestically by a local company has completed, the Defense Industries Presidency (SSB) announced Sunday.

The vehicles are manufactured by the central province of Konya-based MPG Machinery Production Group Inc. Co.

"We have delivered all of the "Partially Mine-Protected Recovery Vehicles" #M4Ks produced locally by MPG," the SSB said in a Twitter statement. The vehicles are being used in case of accidents or for the recovery of malfunctioning of tactical wheeled vehicles included in the Turkish Land Forces’ inventory.

The qualification tests of the M4K vehicles were completed in January 2020 and the vehicles started to gradually join the army’s inventory.

The rescue vehicle, weighing 46 tons, which is suitable for all kinds of terrain and weather with 8-by-8-wheel configurations, was subjected to numerous tests such as pulling, lifting, tilting, speeding, climbing and detonation. The M4K, which has space for four people and can reach a speed of 80 kilometers per hour (almost 50 miles per hour), provides high protection against mines, improvised explosive devices (IED) and kinetic energy ammunition as well as anti-ballistic protection.

A total of 18 M4Ks have joined the inventory before the latest delivery, while some 29 M4Ks were set to enter the inventory as part of the signed protocol with the company.

The vehicles are integrated with 8-by-8 Seyit tank transporters as the armored transporting platform, which was also developed domestically. Passive armor protection, firefighting and explosion suppression systems are also part of the vehicle, along with the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) defense systems, frequency mixers and ASELSAN-developed Sarp remote-controlled weapons systems.