In September of 2020 Katmerciler exported security vehicles to an undisclosed country worth US$ 3.25 million and by the end of 2020 completed deliveries of armored vehicles worth € 20 million which were ordered from an African country in 2019. The company substantially increased its international sales in the last two years and has demonstrated a strong start in 2021 with important sales activity. According to the statement made by the company, an agreement was signed with an allied country for € 39.450 million, covering the sales of HIZIR, ATEŞ and KHAN Tactical Wheeled Armored Vehicles, Border Security and Personnel Carrier Armored Vehicles.

In the written statement by the company, it was stated that the agreement was made with another allied country, not with the African country as appeared in the news in January 2021, and that it was a package agreement, covering various armored vehicles, not a single product. In January 2021, news was shared with the national and international press that Katmerciler Company was preparing for the delivery of 118 HIZIR MRAPs to the Kenyan Army and Kenya Defense Forces spokesman Colonel Zipporah Kioko declared that they would procure 118 HIZIR 4x4 MRAP vehicles from Katmerciler through the Export Credit Bank of Turkey (Turk Eximbank). "The Star", one of the national newspapers of Kenya, published the cost of the purchase as around 7.7 billion Kenyan Shilling (nearly TRY 518 million and US$ 73 million).

Deliveries regarding the package, officially announced as €40 million, are expected to begin in 2021. Deliveries are planned to be made in batches and expected to be completed in 2022.

FURKAN KATMERCİ: “We have Exceeded our 2020 Revenue, Export and Profitability Targets.”

Furkan KATMERCİ, Deputy Chairman of Katmerciler Executive Committee, made a statement after the signing of the armored vehicles export agreement and said, “Our efforts to export our defense industry products, each of which has distinguished features in its own category, continue to yield results. With the contribution of the Turkish defense industry’s growing reputation on an international scale, the fact that we have signed an agreement worth around €40 million is very pleasing for our country, for our industry and our company. Within the scope of the agreement there are several armored vehicles in different segments, not a single product, and this is also an indication of the trust in Katmerciler’s quality work as well as the Turkish defense industry.”

Stating that the deliveries under the agreement will be made in batches, KATMERCİ added, “This success will pave the way for Turkish armored vehicles to be included in the inventories of friendly countries and it will also contribute to Katmerciler's export growth and increase its export revenues. We have exceeded our 2020 targets for revenue, export, and profitability. As a public company, we are happy to share good news to our investors and shareholders. This new agreement will make a significant contribution to the export targets of the next two years. We keep moving forward confidently in line with the targets that we have set. Our export activities to allied countries from different parts of the world, especially to Africa, continue. We believe we will continue to share good news. Our major goals are to grow our exports in the field of defense, to increase our total revenues and profitability.” 

ATEŞ Border Security Vehicles on Duty at Edirne-Kırklareli Border Region

As a payload on ATEŞ Armored Vehicles, designed as Border Security Configuration of HIZIR 4X4 Vehicles, Aselsan’s ACAR Ground Surveillance Radar, ŞAHİNGÖZÜ-OD Electro-optic Sensor System, 9661 V/UHF Ground Radio System and SEDA Gunshot Detection System are available. Additionally, the SECANS Security Management Software is designed and developed by Aselsan and all sensors are controlled through this software. Thanks to the on-vehicle sensors, short/medium/long range troop mobile surveillance requirements are met during day/night and under adverse weather conditions, while a target detected by radar or a sharpshooter firing detected by a gunshot detection system can be determined on the digital map with coordinates and monitored in real time by thermal cameras. 

For use by border troops serving in Edirne and Kırklareli provinces in order to detect irregular migrants and traffickers as well as ensure Turkey-EU border security, a project for the “Supply of Mobile Surveillance Units for Increasing Border Surveillance Capacity of Borders between Turkey and EU” was launched, the tender of which was conducted by the Central Finance and Contracts Unit of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance. The Ministry of Interior’s Provincial Administration General Directorate was the beneficiary and the project was supported 75% by the EU and 25% by Turkey. HIZIR 4x4 vehicles were selected with Aselsan’s solution in the tender. The contract covering a total of 57 vehicles was signed in 2017, and the deliveries of the package, including a total of 57 Armored Vehicles, were completed in 2020 and were included in the Turkish Armed Forces inventory