The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has cancelled an order for 1,500 4Ă—4 N35 (formerly known as the Jais) mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPs) that was announced in 2017, according to Fahad al-Mheiri, executive director of business development at the Emirates Defense Industries Company (EDIC), the parent of manufacturer Nimr.
A Nimr N35 is seen in the Yemeni coastal town of Al-Mukha soon after it was captured in February 2017. (Saleh al-Obeidi /AFP/Getty Images)
Mheiri told Jane’s at the IQPC International Armoured Vehicles conference in London on 23 January that the contract “did not progress for several reasons” and Nimr was now focused on pushing the 6×6 variant of the N35 “through a maturity growth programme based on user feedback”.
“One of the main aspects is maintainability so that the N35 becomes much easier to maintain in the field and the powerpack more accessible,” he said. He added that the growth programme is expected to take at least a year, at which point the vehicle will probably be presented to the UAE Armed Forces.
The 4×4 N35 is already in service with the UAE Armed Forces alongside the Nimr 4×4 Ajban and 6×6 Hafeet family, which will also be developed further. “When EDIC took over Nimr, one of the main aspects was to revisit the Ajban vehicles,” Mheiri said.
Nimr has addressed 33 feedback points from Ajban users varying from the vehicle’s maintenance requirements, protection, ergonomics, and personnel comfort, he added. “Our Ajban programme is pushing the protection from [STANAG] blast level 2 to level 3a and 3b.” Many of the resulting engineering solutions will also be applied to the Hafeet.
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