Estonia shops Turkish armored vehicles for $211 million

WARSAW, Poland — The Estonian Centre for Defence Investments has awarded contracts to Turkish manufacturers Otokar and Nurol Makina to purchase roughly 230 armored vehicles for a total of about €200 million (U.S. $211 million), the agency announced.

Deliveries are scheduled to begin next year as Estonia accelerates its military modernization efforts in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Estonian officials said getting new rides as soon as possible was a key factor in deciding in favor of the Turkish offerings.

“The new armored vehicles will be acquired for the 2nd Infantry Brigade of the Defence Forces, which has not previously had wheeled armored vehicles,” the Estonian center said in a statement. “Furthermore, additional armored vehicles will be purchased for the 1st Infantry Brigade and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Centre of the Estonian Rescue Board.”

Nurol Makina will supply its four-wheel drive NMS vehicles to Estonia, and Otokar will deliver its six-wheel drive Arma vehicles.

In a statement, Otokar said its contract is worth about €130 million, including maintenance, equipment and training, with deliveries of the vehicles “planned to be initiated in the second half of 2024 and completed by 2025.”

Under the plan, the 1st and 2nd infantry brigades will operate the four-wheel drive vehicles, while the 2nd Infantry Brigade will receive the six-wheel drive vehicles, according to the statement.

The vehicles are to be fitted with 12.7mm heavy machine guns and smoke grenade launchers, among other systems, the Estonian agency said.

Karmo Saar, the category manager for air, sea and combat vehicles at the Estonian center, said that nine companies from six countries submitted bids in the contest.

In an earlier statement, the Estonian institution did not disclose the names of all of the involved companies, but did say that, in addition to Turkey, the bidders are based in Finland, France, Italy, Israel and Spain.

The signed contracts have a duration of 10 years and provide Estonia with an option to acquire additional vehicles and spare parts, according to the center.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——爱沙尼亚国防投资中心宣布，已与土耳其制造商 Otokar 和 Nurol Makina 签订合同，购买约 230 辆装甲车，总价值约 2 亿欧元（2.11 亿美元）。

为应对俄罗斯入侵乌克兰事件，爱沙尼亚加快了军事现代化进程，预计明年将开始交付土耳其军用车辆。爱沙尼亚官员表示，尽快获得新装备是他们最终选择土耳其军用车辆的关键因素。

爱沙尼亚国防军装备中心在一份声明中表示：“这批新型装甲车将配发给国防军第2步兵旅，该旅此前从未装备过轮式装甲车。此外，还将为第1步兵旅和爱沙尼亚救援委员会爆炸物处理中心采购更多装甲车。”

Nurol Makina 将向爱沙尼亚供应其四轮驱动的 NMS 车辆，而 Otokar 将向爱沙尼亚供应其六轮驱动的 Arma 车辆。

Otokar 在一份声明中表示，其合同价值约 1.3 亿欧元，包括维护、设备和培训，车辆交付“计划于 2024 年下半年开始，并于 2025 年完成”。

根据该计划，第1和第2步兵旅将使用四轮驱动车辆，而第2步兵旅将接收六轮驱动车辆，声明中如此写道。

爱沙尼亚通讯社表示，这些车辆将配备12.7毫米重机枪和烟雾弹发射器等系统。

爱沙尼亚中心空中、海上和作战车辆类别经理卡尔莫·萨尔表示，来自六个国家的九家公司参加了此次竞标。

在早前的一份声明中，爱沙尼亚机构没有透露所有相关公司的名称，但表示，除了土耳其之外，竞标者还来自芬兰、法国、意大利、以色列和西班牙。

据该中心称，签署的合同有效期为 10 年，并赋予爱沙尼亚购买额外车辆和备件的选择权。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。