The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is set to supply 30 Typhoon armored vehicles to Mali which has been riddled by jihadists. The first batch was delivered last week by the UAE and will join another batch of Bastion armored vehicles delivered by the European Union to Mali to enhance counterterrorism.
Intelligence reports indicate that two flight trips delivered at least fourteen Streit Typhoon 4×4 vehicles the first batch of the 30 agreed upon. Mali’s Prime Minister Boubou Cisse in December said that the UAE was willing to grant her technical and financial assistance in the fight against terrorism.
Additionally, the Malian government is seeking to purchase an extra 100 additional armored vehicles from UAE seeing as the first 30 were gifted to the West African nation. The UAE has been strengthening its ties with Mali, as well as other African countries, and has donated armored vehicles to Somalia.
According to Streit, the 4×4 Typhoon can carry a driver, commander and eight dismounts. It has a V-shaped hull to withstand landmines and is blast protected to STANAG 4569 Level 2 but can be upgraded to Level 4. It can be configured as a command and control vehicle, medical evacuation platform or as a forward observation platform.
Meanwhile, the EU Training Mission Mali on 17 January handed over 13 Aarqus Bastion vehicles to the Sahel G5 Joint Force outside Bamako to equip Malian battalions that contribute to the force. It said that eight are for troop transport, two for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams, two are medical vehicles and one is destined to be a Command Post vehicle.
The armored vehicles will be used to combat Boko Haram, Islamic State, and other terror groups in the region, especially in areas where there is a high risk from improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
