BMC's AMAZON 4×4 is the company's smallest armored vehicle, designed for police and special forces work in dense urban terrain. It is also one of the few Turkish protected vehicles offered in crewed, remote-controlled and autonomous versions from the same hull. SSB lists the national police as the Turkish user, and the vehicle has been exported to Qatar and Turkmenistan.
At a glance
| Builder | BMC |
|---|---|
| Turkish user | General Directorate of Security (national police), per SSB |
| Program status | BMC-funded design, listed in SSB's security-vehicles portfolio |
| Exports | Qatar, Turkmenistan; donated to Turkish Cypriot police in 2023 |
| Debut | 2016 (DIMDEX and Eurosatory); upgraded model at IDEX 2023 |
What is the AMAZON 4×4?
Where BMC's KİRPİ and VURAN prioritize capacity, the AMAZON trades seats for agility in narrow streets. It targets urban operations, patrol, border surveillance, reconnaissance and command roles. The AMAZON RCS variant lets an operator control every vehicle function in real time at up to 5 km, while AMAZON OTTONOM adds autonomous driving and an integrated drone; a prototype was shown to President Erdoğan at the groundbreaking of BMC's Karasu plant.
Key features and specs
The AMAZON is a monocoque V-hull 4×4 that carries up to seven people including driver and commander. A Cummins ISB turbo diesel delivers 245 hp in the early model and 360 hp in the upgraded one, paired with an Allison automatic transmission. BMC quotes a top speed of 120 km/h, though some reports say 110, and the upgraded model has a range of about 800 km. It handles a 70% gradient, a 40% side slope and 800 mm of unprepared fording.
Protection covers mines, ballistic threats and IEDs to STANAG 4569 standards, and a remote weapon station can mount a 7.62 mm or 12.7 mm machine gun. Figures come from BMC and trade press and differ between the original and upgraded models.
Program, service and exports
BMC introduced the AMAZON internationally in 2016 at DIMDEX in Doha and Eurosatory in Paris. An upgraded model with greater payload, a fully digital instrument cluster and better ergonomics debuted at IDEX 2023 in Abu Dhabi. SSB's September 2026 note lists AMAZON in its security and logistics vehicles portfolio with the national police as user, but gives no contractor, contract date or milestones, which points to an off-the-shelf purchase of a company-funded design. Police special operations units use the vehicle in urban operations; quantities are not public.
Qatar was the launch customer. Reports in April 2017 said Doha had ordered 1,500 AMAZONs with a first batch of 35, and open-source compilations confirm 35 delivered. Turkmenistan's State Border Service has fielded AMAZONs with ASELSAN SARP weapon stations since 2018, and Türkiye donated vehicles to the Turkish Cypriot police in 2023. Design, armor and integration are BMC's; open sources cite a Cummins engine and Allison transmission, while ASELSAN's SARP stations add Turkish content to the mission systems.
Peers include the Arquus Sherpa Light, Iveco LMV, Plasan SandCat and Oshkosh JLTV. What sets the AMAZON apart is the family approach: crewed, remote-controlled and autonomous variants on one platform, a combination few rivals offer as production options.
Source: Envanter Medya