From buses to armored cars: Production of armored vehicles starts in Kyrgyzstan

The first domestic armored vehicle Kalkan (translated from Kyrgyz as «shield») is being developed in Kyrgyzstan. The initiator of the project is an entrepreneur Mirbek Askaliev.

24.kg news agency’s journalist talked to Askaliev. According to him, the presentation of the country’s first domestic armored vehicle is planned for the fall of 2025. In the meantime, the combat vehicle is being assembled in a classified workshop. By the way, the correspondent was not allowed there either.

Mirbek Askaliev told that the idea for the project emerged in 2019, when Kyrgyzstan obtained a VIN code for vehicle production. The list of vehicles that the country can produce using this code also included armored military vehicles. That’s when the development of the domestic armored vehicle began.

Built to NATO standards

According to Askaliev, many modifications can be made on the basis of Kalkan armored vehicle. For example, a large-caliber machine gun or other weapons, including a multiple launch rocket system (Katyusha), can be installed. The four-wheel drive allows it to move through hard-to-reach places, while its reinforced armor protects against small arms fire and infantry weapons.

The vehicle has a capacity of ten fully equipped personnel. Kalkan is made according to international and NATO standards, its armor corresponds to the B-6 protection class, capable of stopping 7.62mm caliber bullets — one of the most common in the world. As the entrepreneur noted, this standard makes it competitive for export to international markets.

Domestic assembly and production

At least 75 percent of the components of the armored vehicle for military purposes are produced in Kyrgyzstan. That is, only the engine, gearbox, axles and wheels are purchased. The armor plating is purchased abroad and is adjusted by local craftsmen to the Kalkan sketches, the joints with other parts are reinforced with composite materials and, in consultation with foreign specialists, the armored car is assembled in a workshop closed to prying eyes.

According to Mirbek Askaliev, his team is currently working on three prototypes, which are planned to be sent abroad for testing at a military training ground. There they will be blown up, fired at and tested for strength. Only after that, having passed standardization and rigorous testing, they will be able to participate in international tenders for the supply of equipment to other markets. The entrepreneur noted that if the domestic army needs such equipment, they are ready to supply it at cost.

Bus as a prototype

In general, the armored vehicle is not the first development of the domestic auto designer. Mirbek Askaliev started with the production of buses. In 2022, his company presented a bus equipped with a Euro-5 diesel engine with a high exhaust gas purification class. At the bus’s presentation, President Sadyr Japarov personally tested the vehicle.

The capital’s City Hall planned to purchase a batch of these buses to update the public fleet, but in the end the deal did not take place. However, the entrepreneur did not stop and decided that the next stage of his activity would be the production of Kalkan armored military vehicles.