Peacekeeping: Kripri For Kenya

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March 9, 2021: Kenya has ordered 118 Turkish Kripi 2 MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) armored vehicles. These will be used by Kenyan peacekeepers in neighboring Somalia. Kenya already has 250 South African MRAPs plus a hundred armored vehicles with less protection than MRAPs.

Kripi has was ready for service in 2009 and the Turkish Army ordered 468. The original Kripi was a 4x4 18-ton armored truck that is similar to those made in several other Western countries. Kirpi has a turret, a crew of three, and can carry seven troops or a ton of cargo. Turkey has stressed buying more and more locally made military equipment. The Kirpi passed all its tests and the national police also used the Kripi in eastern Turkey where PKK (Kurdish separatists) were still active. From 2012 to the present Kripi was used in Syria and in 2020 was sent to Libya where Turkey had intervened in the civil war there.

In 2018 Kripi 2 entered service, with a number of improvements based on user feedback. The Turkish security forces immediately ordered 529. The 20-ton Kripi 2 has an improved suspension for a smoother ride and a two-ton payload. Kripi 2 can be equipped with additional composite armor panels and improved resistance to mines as well as improved air conditioning. Top speed is 60 kilometers an hour and a range of 1,000 kilometers on internal fuel. Kripi 2 can also be equipped with an RWS (Remote Weapons System) instead of manually operated 7.62mm or 12.7mm machine-gun turret. In addition to a crew of 3 there is room for ten troops using mine-protected seats or two tons of cargo. There are gun ports so the troops can fire their weapons from inside the vehicle.