The Turkish Company BMC has delivered a new 4×4 armored vehicles called Vuran to the Turkish Armed Forces. BMC Vuran is a Turkish made Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle built by BMC. Vuran is designed and manufactured by the Turkish armored vehicle manufacturer BMC to meet the requirements of the Turkish Land Forces. It is a smaller version of BMC Kirpi. While the Kirpi is capable of carrying 12 people, Vuran can accommodate nine. Armies of several countries, including Qatar and most recently Tunisia, have signed agreements to acquire BMC vehicles for their armies.
The Vuran is based on a monocoque-type design with a body shell built up from armour plates, rather than attaching them to a frame. The V-shaped hull is of all-welded steel armor construction that provides the occupants with protection against 5.56 × 45 mm small arms fire, although also available is protection against 7.62 × 51 mm armor-piercing small arms fire. The vuran provides protection against mine and ballistic threats with shock-absorbing seats, V-structured bottom and weapon station. It stands out with its front and rear cameras, automatic fire extinguishing system, Run-Flat tires, central tire inflation feature, and A/C heating and cooling features.
The layout of the vehicle is divided in three main parts with the engine at the front, the crew in the middle including driver and commander and the troop’s compartment at the rear which can accommodate 7 military personnel. The roof of the vehicle can be fitted with a remotely operated weapon station armed with a machine gun up to 12.7mm caliber. Various subsystems were also later integrated into the vehicle, including ASELSAN Sarp remote-controlled weapon station, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) defense system, mixer, smoke grenade launcher, fire extinguishing system for personnel section, engine section, vehicle and tires, frame for windshields, cable cutting arms and hydraulic winch.
