Senegal orders armoured vehicles for its gendarmerie

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Senegal has ordered two different armoured vehicles from Turkey for its gendarmerie, with deliveries set to commence this month.

Private Turkish company Nurol Makina was awarded the contract for Ejder Yalcin and Ejder Toma vehicles, which are set to be delivered in batches in March and April/May this year, according to Turkish media. Senegalese personnel are currently being trained on the vehicles.

The Ejder Yalcin is a 4×4 vehicle that can be equipped with manned or unmanned turrets housing 7.62 mm and 12.7 mm machineguns or a 25 mm cannon or 40 mm grenade launcher. Various configurations are available, such as explosives disposal, air defence, command and control, internal security, ambulance, combat vehicle, reconnaissance etc. Army Recognition reports that Senegal’s vehicles will be equipped with open turrets.

The 14 ton Ejder Yalcin can carry 11 people or a payload of 4 tons. Top speed is 120 km/h and range 700 km. A V-hull provides landmine protection.

The Ejder Toma is a 4×4 riot control vehicle equipped with a water cannon (with 5 000 litre water tank) that can also dispense tear gas, dye or foam. Equipment includes cameras, sirens, spotlights and a bulldozer blade for clearing barricades. It has a top speed of 110 km/h and range of 750 km.

According to Turkish media, Nurol Makina have previously exported vehicles to Tunisia, with 70 being delivered. Other customers include Uzbekistan and Qatar.

It is not clear how many vehicles have been ordered by Senegal.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers database, Senegal has in the last five years received a number of different armoured vehicle types, including two Oncilla (Dozor-B) armoured cars from Poland, 55 Puma M26 armoured vehicles from South Africa, 55 RAM armoured vehicles from Israel and 12 WMA-301 Assaulter armoured fighting vehicles from China.