Armored Cars: Nurol Makina Ejder Yalcin

Via Nurol Makina.

Here we have another strong addition to Turkey’s impressive stockpile of armored trucks. The Ejder Yalcin manufactured by Nurol Makina is a hefty 4×4 designed for police and military use. This explains its emphasis on protective features, internal volume, and overall size.

The Ejder or “Dragon” began as a concept in 2012 for a vehicular family. The first Ejder debuted at Turkey’s largest arms show in 2013. It immediately received an order and entered production the following year. The Ejder Yalcin marks a further improvement on the original and is a competitive entry in the world of tactical vehicles. The available literature about it avoids specifics on its armor level and subsystems but does mention what it can do.

Given its conventional appearance the Ejder Yalcin runs on a 300 horsepower Cummins diesel engine. It manages a top speed of 110 kilometers per hour and a range of 600 km on a full tank. The Ejder Yalcin’s independent suspension that uses wishbone helical springs makes it capable of navigating through obstacles and ditches. Despite not having propellers it can move through water at depths less than three feet. Unloaded, the Ejder Yalcin weighs 13 tons but supports an additional four tons of cargo and equipment.

Via Nurol Makina.

The basic variant of the Ejder Yalcin is recognizable for its prominent bumper that houses a towing winch and its high ground clearance due to a v-hull. These are intentional improvements for off-road mobility, where the risks from landmines and IEDs are greater. The seating within the vehicle fits three crew members and eight passengers, who enter from a rear swing door. Aside from individual window panels, two roof hatches allow those inside to observe their surroundings.

The seats within the Ejder Yalcin rest on suspended mounts so that its passengers have less risk of injuries or concussions when the hull absorbs a shock wave. Each of the windows–nine total–and the windshield are covered in wire mesh to stop projectiles that could penetrate the interior. The Ejder Yalcin’s manufacturer doesn’t specify its armor level but judging by the current standards for MRAPs it’s safe to assume the front of the vehicle has the toughest ballistic protection.

Via Nurol Makina.

Smoke grenade dischargers and optional day/night optics are mounted on the roof. Operators of the Ejder Yalcin can request bespoke improvements on the vehicle–a ramp can be installed at the back to replace the swing door. Add-on armor panels are available for the hull and cab. The module for the remote weapon station supports 7.62mm and 12.7mm machine guns, a 25mm cannon, or a 40mm grenade launcher.

Small batches of the Ejder Yalcin are now in service with the Turkish Army and neighboring Georgia is probably its first export customer. In 2017 Nurol Makina announced that it was launching a joint venture with UzAuto for licensed assembly of a thousand Ejder’s in Uzbekistan. Nurol Makina is one of 40 subsidiaries under Nurol Holding, a family-owned conglomerate with a long history in the construction sector.

Via Nurol Makina.