OTT Puma M26-15
OTT Puma M26-15
TypeMRAP
Place of originSouth Africa
Service history
Used bySee Users
Production history
ManufacturerOTT Technologies

The Puma M26-15 4x4 is an armored personnel carrier (APC) with mine and improvised explosive device (IED) protection. The main users are military, police and security companies during peacekeeping operations. The Puma M26 was designed by OTT Technologies, a South African firm linked to DynCorp International.[1] It is manufactured in South Africa and Mozambique.[2]

History

OTT Armoured Vehicles, a business unit of OTT Technologies (Pty) Ltd, first developed the Puma M26-15 as a cost-effective medium mine-protected vehicle. The M26-15 is a continuation of the Puma 4x2 mine-protected vehicle, which was successfully deployed in Iraq.

Design

A Kenyan soldier speaks to a Somali with a PUMA M26-15 during an AMISCOM op.

The main design parameter was to develop a lower-cost and robust mine-protected vehicle without compromising crew safety and quality, a vehicle that can be deployed successfully and safely in the harsh environments of Africa and other developing regions. The M26-15 with a crew complement of ten (driver and commander plus eight)[3] is a Tata 715TC 4x4 driveline, making it a robust and easy-to-maintain mine-protected vehicle with a low life-cycle cost.[3][4]

The eight-ton GVM M26-15 has a sustained road speed of 80 km/h, double-lane change capability of 70 km/h, gradient of 60% and a side-slope capability of more than 25°. Wide windows ensure a good situational awareness, while eleven shooting ports plus two roof hatches and a 360° cupola with a pintle mount for a light machine gun ensures quick and furious retaliation from the crew in case of an ambush.

Dynamic automotive tests were successfully completed at the internationally renowned Gerotek vehicle test track outside Pretoria.

Variants

PUMA M36 Mk 5

A 6x6 variant unveiled at the Africa Aerospace and Defense 2016 convention, they consist of an APC and armored recovery variant.[5] There are plans to market more variants such as an ambulance, command post and fire support vehicle armed with a 60mm or 81mm mortar.[5] It has two persons, commander and driver, seated in front while 10 at the rear, five seated at each side facing inward on blast-attenuating seats.[5]

Scandal

OTT Technologies were accused in March 2014 of breaking customs, tax, and controlled goods laws in Mozambique while attempting to export South African built Puma M26-15 vehicles through the port of Maputo. Mozambican tax authorities impounded 16 Puma M36-MRAPS at the port of Maputo and OTT Technologies’ facility outside of Maputo until the completion of a multi-ministerial investigation into tax and arms control irregularities is complete.[1]

After a thorough investigation by the Mozambique Tax Authority and related departments, all allegations against OTT Technologies were withdrawn, and the 16 vehicles were unconditionally released for return to South Africa. The vehicles returned to South Africa in September 2016 and were shipped to West Africa shortly thereafter to commence in the peacekeeping operations that they were originally destined for.

Users

  •  Burkina Faso: 31 M26s[6]
  •  Guinea: 32 M26s acquired in 2014.[7]
  •  Kenya: 150 M26s used in Somalia.[8] OTT has a workshop established in Nairobi under a contract to help the Kenyans repair the M26s.[9]
  •  Libya: Acquired M26s.
  •  Malawi: In 2013, 13 M26s delivered to Malawi.[8]
  •  Senegal: In 2014, 30 M26s delivered to Senegal which also included armored recovery vehicles.[8]
  •  Somalia: 6 M26s donated by the US in 2021. [10]

References

  1. 1 2 Guy Martin (31 March 2014). "DynCorp rolls out first 16 armoured personnel carriers for UN mission in Mali". Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  2. ↑ Mozambique: Armoured Cars were assembled in Matola
  3. 1 2 "Kenyan army took delivery of 67 South African-made Puma- M-26 armoured personnel carrier 1109122 | September 2012 new army military defence industry | Military army defense industry news year 2012".
  4. ↑ "OTT Technologies announces Puma M26-15 and Hunter LSV". 25 September 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 "Janes | Latest defence and security news". Archived from the original on 16 March 2020.
  6. ↑ International Institute for Strategic Studies (February 2016). "Chapter Nine: Sub-Saharan Africa" (PDF). The Military Balance 2016. Vol. 116. Routlegde. pp. 432–433. doi:10.1080/04597222.2016.1127636. ISBN 9781857438352. S2CID 219623172. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  7. ↑ "Trade Registers". armstrade.sipri.org.
  8. 1 2 3 Binnie, Jeremy; de Cherisey, Erwan (2017). "New-model African armies" (PDF). Jane's. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 June 2017.
  9. ↑ "New products struggling in tough armoured vehicles market – OTT". 11 April 2014.
  10. ↑ "Trade Registers". military.africa.

Notes

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