Hungary gets 1st delivery of Turkish armored vehicle

By Mehmet Yilmaz

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AA) - Hungary on Thursday received its first delivery of the Turkish-made 4x4 tactical armored vehicle Ejder Yalcin, known as Dragon in English.

Speaking at the delivery ceremony in the capital Budapest, Hungarian Defense Minister Tibor Benko said 40 more armored vehicles will be delivered soon besides the 10 received today.

Nurol Makina, the armored vehicle’s maker, will do joint production with Hungary, Benko stressed.

Engin Aykol, Nurol Makina’s CEO, underlined that Ejder Yalcin was produced using state-of-the-art technology and is seen as the most reliable vehicle in the 4x4 category.

Noting that Hungary is the first EU country the armored vehicle has been exported to, Aykol said: "We’re ready to establish a company and invest in the country."

Hungary is the sixth country in the world to choose Ejder Yalcin to meet the needs of its security forces.

Ejder Yalcin is a unique platform that has high protection and mobility and was developed to meet the operational requirements of military units and security forces in all kinds of terrain, including off-road, according to Nurol.

It offers solutions to various operational requirements of users with customizations such as use as multi-role armored vehicles, border surveillance and security vehicles, air defense vehicles, reconnaissance vehicles, command and control vehicles, mine and IED detection and disposal vehicles, combat vehicles, anti-tank vehicles, armored personnel carriers, mortar vehicles, forward observer vehicles, tactical missile carriage/launch systems, and armored ambulance vehicles.

Last week, Benko and Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar met in Budapest to discuss issues of defense and security along with military cooperation areas.