Dozens of Turkish Amazon armored vehicles spotted in Libya

Footage said to be from Libya shows dozens of Turkish-made BMC AMAZON 4×4 armored vehicles in service with Libyan elite units, fitted with remote-controlled weapon stations and jamming systems, according to Turkish defense analyst Ahmet Alemdar, who shared the images on X.

Alemdar described the vehicles as being operated by “elite units” but did not identify which Libyan force or faction they belong to, where or when the footage was filmed, or how many vehicles appear in total beyond describing them as “dozens.” The post also did not say what type of jamming equipment is mounted on the vehicles or which weapons the remote-controlled stations carry. Neither BMC nor Türkiye’s defense procurement agency has publicly announced an AMAZON export contract with Libya.

The AMAZON is the smallest vehicle in BMC Otomotiv’s family of armored vehicles and was first shown publicly at the Eurosatory exhibition in Paris in 2016. It has a V-shaped hull built to deflect mine and roadside bomb blasts away from the crew, carries up to seven people, and, according to BMC, can reach 120 km/h (75 mph) and travel about 800 km (500 miles) on a tank of fuel. Remote-controlled weapon stations on the AMAZON typically carry a 7.62 mm or 12.7 mm machine gun that the crew aims and fires from inside the vehicle using cameras and a screen. BMC has also shown versions that can be driven without a crew, and Turkish company ASELSAN has mounted its GÖKBERK counter-drone laser on the AMAZON chassis.

Jamming systems on light armored vehicles are usually meant to block the radio links and satellite navigation signals that small drones and remotely triggered roadside bombs rely on, giving convoys some protection against both threats. Alemdar’s post did not say which of those roles the Libyan equipment is meant to fill.

Türkiye has been one of Libya’s main military partners since 2019, when it signed a security agreement with the government in Tripoli and later sent military advisers, drones and armored vehicles to support its forces. Turkish-made BMC vehicles, including the larger Kirpi and Vuran models, have appeared in Libya in previous years. The AMAZON has also been exported to other countries in the region, and BMC has marketed it heavily to armies that need light, mine-protected vehicles for internal security and border work.