Bahrain government purchases 22 Cobras from Turkey

The Bahrain government has recently purchased 22 Cobras from Turkey, and at $400,000 a pop that's no small amount of petrodollars we are talking about. Designed and produced in Turkey, the Cobra comes complete with an amphibious kit. "An optional amphibious kit consists of double hydraulic thrusters with joystick control and closing louvres. The system allows the vehicle to enter water without preparation," reads the the sales jargon.



Currently the Turkish military have four, so the nautical engineer, who works for the company told me, on my return journey from Bahrain. However, this report states that there are five currently in operation in Turkey. "The Cobra family of light armoured vehicles is manufactured by Otokar Otobus Karoseri Sanayi in Turkey. The Cobra designs incorporate the mechanical components of the HMMWV vehicle from AM General of the USA. Cobra vehicles are in service with the Turkish Army (five vehicles) and the Maldives (three vehicles)."



Interesting that Bahrain with a population of 707,000 people should need 22 of the beasts. The engineer I sat next to on the plane, said that there are currently only two people in the kingdom that can drive these great contraptions. Personally I'd like to drive one down Istiklal on a Saturday, it would certainly cut down on parking problems – you could just roll on up and roll on over – what ever gets in your way!

The King of Bahrain was in Turkey only three weeks ago, although it was not widely publisized, was he inking the deal? And why was he inking such a deal? The editor at Al-Wassat newspaper, Bahrain, wrote up a piece based on the information I'd gathered on my trip back to Turkey – my source: I saw the photos of the damn things being driven around like rally cars on the mudflaps of Bahrain and spoke to the engineer who had gone there to train the drivers. Straight from the horses mouth as they say.

The official word is "No response from the government yet".

For more info on these fun little rides:http://www.army-technology.com/projects/cobra/