Turkish armored vehicle manufacturer Nurol Makina has completed a new configuration of its Ejder Yalçın 4x4 tactical wheeled armored vehicles (TWAV). The vehicles are now able to fire mortars with an integrated new system.

While drawing attention to its high protection capability, superior mobility and load-carrying capacity, the Ejder Yalçın completed its qualification tests as a mortar vehicle using the new configuration, an Anadolu Agency (AA) report said Tuesday.

The Alkar 120 mm Mortar Weapon System and subsystems used in the retrofit were also developed domestically by leading Turkish defense company Aselsan. It is a modern weapon system integrated on a turret equipped with an Automatic Barrel Laying System, an Automatic Ammunition Loading System, a Recoil Mechanism and Fire Control Systems.

The Ejder Yalçın's configuration can provide fire support for commando, infantry and motorized and mechanized infantry units in conventional and asymmetrical war environments. It includes a 120-mm mortar gun, semiautomatic ammunition loading system, ammunition storage system and fire control system.

The vehicle's stability allows it to make precision hits while also quickly and safely changing places after firing thanks to its mobility, an important capability for heavy armored vehicles.

The combat machine has different configurations with which the new vehicle can jointly operate. The Ejder Yalçın Reconnaissance Observation Vehicle, for instance, which is capable of acting as a "forward observer" is able to precisely detect targets, allowing the Ejder Yalçın Mortar Vehicle to then hit them.

Other configurations of the battle-tested vehicle include an air defense vehicle, a command-control vehicle, a combat vehicle, a personnel carrier, a mine/improvised explosive device (IED) detection-destruction vehicle, an ambulance, a radar vehicle, a jammer (signal interceptor) vehicle, an anti-tank guided missile vehicle, a surveillance and security vehicle and a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) defense vehicle.

The local defense company has sold a large number of its armored vehicles to both domestic users and purchasers abroad. With the integration, Ejder Yalçın will meet the operational needs of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), gendarmerie personnel and international buyers. Nurol Makina's armored vehicle family consists of the Ejder Toma, the Ejder Yalçın, the Ejder Kunter, the Ilgaz and the Yörük. Late last year, five Turkish defense companies signed a $150 million (TL 1.14 billion) export agreement with Tunisia. The Ejder Yalçın is one of the products that will be exported to the Maghreb country.

In line with the contracts signed with its international users, the company continues to work on configurations in which different payloads are integrated in a way to respond to both user feedback and technological developments.

Thanks to the continuous training it provides to its users and the service network it has established around the world, Nurol Makina can offer its buyers timely maintenance of its machines.

It has already exported to countries like Tunisia, Uzbekistan and Qatar and it is expanding its target customer area into Europe and South Asia as Hungary, Romania and Malaysia have occasionally shown interest in the local armored vehicle manufacturer's products.

Nurol Makina, thanks to its economic performance, made the biggest jump among local defense companies, rising to 179th place from 373rd on the "Top 500 Industrial Enterprises of Turkey 2019" survey prepared by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) and announced last year.