The Turkish defense industry has started to use domestic armor steel in its armored land vehicles which are exported worldwide.
Armored land vehicles make up one of the items that Türkiye exports the most in terms of the number of countries in the defense industry.
The vehicles produced by Turkish armored vehicle manufacturers successfully operate in nearly 50 countries in very different geographies and climates.
Steel producers in the country have been working for a while to produce high-quality steel needed in the defense industry. Significant progress has also been made in cooperation with vehicle manufacturers.
Major armored vehicles maker Nurol Makina, which designs and manufactures unique systems for armored combat vehicles, armored personnel carriers and special-purpose platforms in the 4x4 segment, collaborated with domestic steel manufacturers in this regard.
Nurol Makina carried out a detailed study within the scope of the localization of armor steel.
The company, which took various samples from Miilux OY, which Türkiye's military pension fund Oyak acquired to strengthen domestic production, carried out various tests, especially ballistic and blast tests.
Besides, studies were carried out on all production processes related to the product, and the necessary activities to approve the product were completed.
The company started using domestic armor steel in certain parts of the vehicles under design and production.
Nurol Makina aims to produce vehicles using 100% domestic armor steel, thus contributing to the Turkish defense industry and economy by significantly increasing the localization rate.
The company competes with its international competitors with vehicles produced from domestic armor steel, a global player. It represents the high-quality production power reached by the country's industry abroad.
The company's product family includes Ejder Toma, Ejder Yalçın, Ejder Kunter, Ilgaz and Yörük armored vehicles, which are preferred by many countries from South America to Central Asia, from Asia to Europe, from Africa to the Middle East.
The company has produced and used over 1,600 vehicles in 20 countries.
The share of armor steel in vehicle costs varies between 5% to 12%, depending on the vehicle's quality and protection level.