Design began in 2008 and the first prototype came in 2009, the year the Turkish Land Forces awarded a contract for 614; deliveries started in 2014. The vehicle carries a driver, a commander, a gunner and ten troops, weighs eighteen tonnes empty and twenty laden, and originally ran a Cummins diesel of 375 hp. BMC's own TUNA engine was planned as the replacement and was in place by January 2025.
The Kirpi 2 of 2018 — 529 awarded in a separate contract — added independent suspension, better air conditioning, composite add-on armour and an improved spall liner. It is Turkey's most widely exported armoured vehicle: more than 100 to Pakistan, 233 to Tunisia, more than 40 to Libya, a reported 700 to Ukraine, and more to Djibouti, Kosovo, Qatar and Somalia.
First generation (2014– )
2 VEHICLES IN THIS CHAPTER614 awarded in 2009, deliveries from 2014, over 2,000 in service.
Registry records · chapter 1
Kirpi 2 (2018– )
1 VEHICLE IN THIS CHAPTER529 awarded; independent suspension and composite armour.
Registry records · chapter 2
Base models
The structural configurations the registry and the Creator build from; each page carries the researched specification.In service
Where the registry's Kirpi records worked; each opens the themed history.Sources
- BMC Kirpi — Wikipedia