Togo parades new Kasser II MRAPs

The Kasser II MRAPs in Togo's military parade on 27 April. (Ministère des Armées du Togo )

Togo's independence day parade on 27 April included Kasser II mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles, making it the third apparent operator of a vehicle promoted by the International Golden Group (IGG), a company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Television coverage of the event showed 12 MRAPs that the military commentator identified as new Kasser IIs that would be used by the Togolese Armed Forces for counter-terrorism operations.

The Kasser II was first displayed at the International Defence Exhibition & Conference (IDEX) held in Abu Dhabi in February 2021 by a previously unknown company called M4 Industries. There was speculation that it could have been based on the Reva V, an MRAP developed by South African company Integrated Convoy Protection (ICP).

Several Kasser IIs were then seen in media coverage when Emirati Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Sultan bin Ahmed al-Jaber visited Tawazun Industrial Park, a cluster of defence manufacturing facilities west of Abu Dhabi city, in August 2022.

A completely different vehicle was displayed as the Kasser II by IGG, which traditionally supplies foreign defence products to the UAE Armed Forces, during IDEX 2023. Janes confirmed that the vehicle was a superficially modified Kirpi II, an MRAP made by Turkish company BMC.

Kasser IIs were probably next seen in a video released by the UAE National Guard in February 2024 to show a riot-control exercise, although the vehicles were not seen clearly. Confirmation that the National Guard was operating both the original Kasser II and Kirpi II came on 2 December 2024, when a significant number of both types were included in a large military parade in Abu Dhabi.