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Ethiopia appears to have taken delivery of a significant number of new MCAV-20 armoured vehicles manufactured by Calidus in the United Arab Emirates.
Video appeared on social media this week showing dozens of MCAV-20s being transported by train on the Ethio-Djibouti railway, headed for Addis Ababa. At least 30 were shown in one video clip, but it seems more vehicles were delivered based on the footage shown.
Ethiopia has been acquiring significant quantities of military hardware in recent years, but this marks the first shipment of Emirati-built armoured vehicles. The East African nation has acquired other equipment from the United Arab Emirates, however, including CAR 817 DMR and CSR rifles manufactured by Caracal for the Ethiopian Republican Guard. Janes reported that Ethiopia’s military also appears to have taken delivery of CAR 816 assault rifles from Caracal.
The MCAV-20 has been racking up a growing number of export customers, including Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (Republican Guard), Mozambique, and Mauritania.
The MCAV-20, launched in 2021, is one of several vehicles manufactured by Calidus, along with the LRV-20 lightweight 4×4 and Al Wahash 8×8. The latter was designed by South Africa’s ADG Mobility.
The MCAV-20 appears to be powered by a 330 hp engine and protected against ballistic and landmine threats. A ‘smart hull design’ allows for the integration of turrets and weapon stations. The vehicle weighs around 7-9 tons and has a top speed of about 110 km/h.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI’s) Arms Transfers database, in recent years Ethiopia acquired five Despot armoured vehicles from Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2022, 32 SH-5 155 mm self-propelled guns from China in 2022, four Bayraktar TB-2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Turkey in 2021, and two Wing Loong-1 UAVs that same year.
In January, the Ethiopian Air Force revealed it had received Bayraktar Akinci UAVs from Turkey and second hand Sukhoi Su-30K combat jets from Russia.