Turkey’s MKE develops URAN vehicle-mounted 105mm howitzer

Turkey’s state-owned defense manufacturer MKE has unveiled the URAN, a vehicle-mounted 105mm howitzer derived from its export-proven BORAN towed artillery system, ahead of the SAHA 2026 defense exhibition.

The URAN made its public debut through MKE’s official announcement, with the company billing it as a mobile fire support solution engineered for rapid ground maneuver. Where the BORAN was designed to be towed and emplaced, the URAN takes the same 105mm capability and puts it directly on a vehicle platform — cutting the time between movement and fire to a fraction of what conventional towed artillery requires. On modern battlefields, where counter-battery radars can locate a gun within seconds of firing, that difference isn’t a convenience. It’s survival.

According to MKE’s statement, the URAN delivers a firing rate of 10 to 12 rounds per minute — a figure that puts meaningful suppression capability in the hands of units that need to shoot and move. The system’s effective range reaches up to 18 kilometers, covering the kind of distances that matter in combined-arms engagements where infantry and armor need fires beyond their organic weapons. To keep rounds on target regardless of terrain, the URAN incorporates hydraulic supports and an advanced stabilizer system designed to maintain platform stability across all ground conditions — a critical feature when the vehicle may need to fire from slopes, soft soil, or uneven terrain without the luxury of time to find a perfect firing position.

MKE has positioned it as Turkey’s leading howitzer export success, and the vehicle-mounted URAN is explicitly framed as an evolution of that platform rather than a clean-sheet design. That lineage gives the URAN a head start on credibility — buyers already familiar with BORAN’s performance have a baseline from which to evaluate what the mounted variant can offer. It also tells you something about MKE’s commercial instincts: rather than building a separate product for a separate market, the company is expanding an existing success story into a higher-mobility configuration that addresses a clear gap in light and medium force artillery.

Turkey’s artillery ambitions have grown considerably over the past decade. Domestic demand — sharpened by operational experience in Syria, Iraq, and Libya — has driven investment across the artillery spectrum, from the large-caliber T-155 Fırtına self-propelled howitzer to lighter systems intended for more mobile forces. The URAN slots into that lighter, faster tier. A 105mm vehicle-mounted gun isn’t designed to replace heavy tube artillery; it’s designed to accompany light brigades, special operations forces, and rapid reaction units that need organic fire support without the logistical weight of larger systems. It’s the kind of capability that has become increasingly relevant as militaries worldwide reassess how to sustain firepower across dispersed, fast-moving operations.

MKE — the Machinery and Chemical Industry Corporation — sits at the center of Turkey’s state-owned defense industrial base, manufacturing everything from small arms ammunition to artillery systems and explosives. The URAN announcement reinforces the company’s positioning as a full-spectrum artillery supplier, offering both towed and vehicle-mounted solutions from the same product family.