Turkey’s state-owned defense company ASFAT will export four unmanned mine-clearing vehicles to Burkina Faso, the company wrote on Twitter.
The sale of the Mechanical Mine Clearing Equipment (MEMATT) to the West African country comes after the firm recently delivered the same equipment to Azerbaijan, the first country to buy the minesweepers.
No further details about the Burkina Faso deal were given, nor was an expected delivery date announced.
The MEMATT
The MEMATT was tested in Baku, Azerbaijan, where it detonated all mines laid in the field. Currently, the MEMATT is being used there to clear remaining mines placed in contested areas by Armenia.
The vehicle is both “less time-consuming and safer in mine-clearing operations,” Anar Karimov of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told reporters. The MEMATT features more advanced technology compared to older models.
The machine’s design, prototyping, and production took only 14 months, then being ready for service with the Turkish Armed Forces. The MEMATT is explosion resistant, moves more quickly, is considered more reliable, and has a lesser risk of loss of life during operation compared to previous technology.
