What Armored Vehicles Does Turkey Have? Kirpi, Pars and Tulpar

Apart from its tanks, the Turkish army has more than 9,000 armoured vehicles. About 5,000 are tracked carriers designed in the 1960s and 1980s. Another 4,000 are mine-resistant and light armoured 4x4s built in Turkey. What it has lacked is a modern wheeled fighting vehicle of the kind most NATO armies adopted twenty years ago. That gap began to close in 2025 with the first orders for two Turkish 8×8 designs.

This guide sets out the fleet by type, explains why Turkey built so many mine-resistant vehicles, and describes the new vehicles and the export trade that grew out of them.

What armored vehicles does Turkey have?

The GlobalMilitary database, updated in September 2026, lists 645 infantry fighting vehicles, 4,348 armoured personnel carriers and 4,132 protected patrol vehicles.

ACV-15 and M113: the tracked fleet

The mechanised infantry still rides in two old vehicles. The M113 is the aluminium box that carried American soldiers in Vietnam, and Turkey has 2,813 of them. The ACV-15 is a Turkish-built development of the same family, produced by FNSS near Ankara from 1990. It comes as a personnel carrier and as a fighting vehicle with a one-man turret and a 25 mm cannon.

Neither is well protected against modern anti-tank weapons or mines, and neither can keep up with the Altay described in our guide to Turkey’s tanks. A modernisation programme has fitted 134 fighting vehicles with an unmanned turret, new armour and new electronics, and 551 more carriers are planned to follow. This is a stopgap. The tracked replacement is discussed below.

Kirpi, Vuran and Cobra: the mine-resistant fleet

Turkey’s long war against the PKK was fought on mountain roads where the main threat was a buried bomb. The answer was the mine-resistant vehicle: a truck with a V-shaped steel hull that deflects a blast away from the crew. BMC‘s Kirpi, Turkish for hedgehog, is the best known. It weighs close to 20 tonnes, carries 13 people and has been bought in two versions totalling 2,010 vehicles. The smaller Vuran and Nurol Makina’s Ejder Yalçın do the same job for smaller units, and Otokar‘s Cobra is a lighter patrol vehicle that has served since the 1990s.

These vehicles went to Syria and Iraq with Turkish troops, and they have sold widely. Kirpis are in service in Tunisia, Qatar, Turkmenistan and Somalia, and Ukraine received them from 2022. The Ejder Yalçın is built under licence in Hungary.

Pars Alpha and Altuğ: the new 8x8s

In February 2025 the army ordered its first modern wheeled fighting vehicles under what it calls the New Generation Vehicles programme. FNSS received a contract for 25 Pars Alpha vehicles in 8×8 and 6×6 versions, and BMC one for 29 Altuğ 8x8s armed with a 35 mm cannon.

The Pars Alpha has an unusual layout. Its 711 hp engine sits at the front, which leaves one open compartment for the crew of three and nine infantry. All eight wheels steer. It reaches 115 km/h on roads and has a range of more than 800 km. The fighting version carries a 30 mm or 40 mm cannon in a turret that can be manned or remotely operated.

The Altuğ is built at the Ankara factory that makes the Altay, which is designed to produce ten a month. The first orders are small, but FNSS says the army intends to buy more than 2,000 vehicles in later batches.

Tulpar and Kaplan: tracked vehicles for the future

Two Turkish tracked designs are waiting for the army to decide. Otokar’s Tulpar is a heavy infantry fighting vehicle of 32 to 42 tonnes with a 30 mm unmanned turret and room for an active protection system, built to work alongside the Altay. FNSS’s Kaplan is a lighter family; its medium tank version, armed with a 105 mm gun, is in service in Indonesia. Neither appears yet in the Turkish army’s inventory.

ZAHA: the amphibious assault vehicle

The navy’s marines have a vehicle of their own. ZAHA is a tracked amphibious carrier built by FNSS that swims from a ship to the beach and fights its way inland, in the manner of the American AAV7. It carries 18 marines and a crew of three and is armed with a remote turret mounting a heavy machine gun and a grenade launcher. The first batch of 27 was delivered for use from TCG Anadolu, the ship described in our guide to Turkey’s warships. A second batch of the same size was ordered in May 2026.

Who buys Turkish armoured vehicles?

Armoured vehicles are among Turkey’s oldest defence exports. FNSS built the AV8 for Malaysia and the Pars III for Oman. Otokar’s Arma is the basis of the Rabdan 8×8 used by the United Arab Emirates, and Estonia chose Otokar and Nurol Makina vehicles in 2023. On 1 October 2026 Otokar announced a $1.47 billion contract for wheeled armoured vehicles with a customer it did not name, with deliveries from 2027. FNSS is doubling its capacity from 100 to 200 vehicles a year.

Frequently asked questions

How many armoured vehicles does Turkey have?

About 9,125 in army service besides tanks, according to GlobalMilitary in September 2026: 645 infantry fighting vehicles, 4,348 personnel carriers and 4,132 protected patrol vehicles.

What is the Kirpi?

A mine-resistant 4×4 troop carrier built by BMC. It weighs close to 20 tonnes, carries 13 people and has a V-shaped hull that deflects mine blasts. The army has 2,010.

What is the Pars Alpha?

A new 8×8 wheeled fighting vehicle by FNSS with a front-mounted 711 hp engine and a 30 mm or 40 mm cannon. The army ordered the first 25 in February 2025.

Does Turkey still use the M113?

Yes. It has 2,813 M113s and more than 2,000 ACV-15s of the same family. New wheeled and tracked vehicles are planned to replace them.

What is the Tulpar?

A tracked infantry fighting vehicle of 32 to 42 tonnes developed by Otokar, with a 30 mm unmanned turret. It has not yet entered Turkish army service.

Who makes Turkish armoured vehicles?

Four companies: FNSS, Otokar, BMC and Nurol Makina. All four export.