GABORONE, Botswana — The Libyan National Army (LNA) has taken delivery of several Armored Personnel Carriers (APC) and military pick-up trucks which that were donated to the Tobruk-based government by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to the Libyan Herald, the military vehicle consignment was delivered to the LNA headquarters in Tobrul on Saturday April 23. Although there was no official comment from army Ccommander-IinCchief and defense minister Gen.eral Khalifa Haftar, the LNA posted a single image of dozens of what appears to be new Panthera T-6 light APCs and Toyota Landcruiser pick-up trucks.
The caption did not state the number of APCs donated by the UAE. The Libya Herald quoted an army spokesman saying some of the new APCs will be deployed in support of an ongoing army and militia offensive to flush the Islamic State (ISIS) fighters out of its de-facto regional capital of Sirte.
Some of the LNA's new APCs seen lined up at army HQ in Tobruk on Saturday
Photo Credit: LNA Facebook page
Together with Egypt and Jordan, the UAE has allegedly defied the UN arms embargo on Libya to become one of the most consistent supporters of the LNA since General Haftar took charge in 2012.
On 17 May 2015, t The LNA on May 17, 2015, published a brief report and accompanying images of several Typhoon 4x4 APCs which it said were donated by the UAE to support the fight against terrorism.
The Typhoon is a product of Canadian armored vehicle manufacturer Streit Group, which operates a production and service plant for clients in the Middle East and Africa regions from a base in the Ras al-Khaimah industrial region of Dubai.
The APC was reported two months after General Haftar's tri-nation tour to Egypt, the UAE and Jordan where he drummed up military support to fight ISIS and local militias opposed to the Tobruk government.
The Typhoon delivery was followed weeks latter by a brief report and satellite imagery posted on the Facebook page of the LNA purported to show some Mi-8 and Mi-25 aircraft, which a recent UN Panel of Experts (PoE) report on the Libyan arms embargo said were likely donated by Egypt.
Further, the March 2016 report said the LNA had likely received its first batch of 32 Panthera T-6 light APCs in May 2014, but was unsure of the source because the Streit Group plant in the UAE or Egypt.
Built on a Toyota Landcruiser chassis, the Panthera T-6 is a four-liter engine light APC, which the manufacturer claims is armored up to BR6 standard against 7.62X51 mm soft-core ammunition.
In the UAE, the T-6 is manufactured by Minerva Special Purpose Vehicles (MSPV), while Egyptian company Eagles Defence International Systems produces the T-6 and its S10 and K10CMD variants.
Email: onkala@defensenews.com
