The United States has handed over 14 Puma M36 armoured vehicles to the Ghana Armed Forces. They are part of a batch originally destined for Niger, but were instead sent to other African nations.
An official handover ceremony was held on Thursday 8 May at the 153 Armoured Regiment, Abuga Square in Burma Camp, with US Ambassador to Ghana Virginia Palmer transferring the vehicles on behalf of the US government.
In her speech, she underscored the importance of safeguarding Ghana’s northern border, given the evolving security challenges in the region. She reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to supporting Ghana in enhancing its defence capabilities through sustained partnerships, capacity-building initiatives and the provision of critical resources.
Speaking at the event, Ghana’s Minister for Defence, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, expressed gratitude to the United States Government for the support in promoting regional and global peace. He reiterated Ghana’s commitment to maintain the donated vehicles.
Ahead of the handover, a group of 40 personnel from the Ghana Army’s 15 Armoured Brigade and the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Corps successfully completed a four-week orientation training focused on the operation and maintenance of the newly acquired vehicles.
The course concluded on Friday 2 May after being held at the headquarters of the 153 Armoured Regiment. It was facilitated by Virginia-based defence contractor AMENTUM and coordinated through the Office of Security Cooperation at the US Embassy in Ghana.
The training curriculum included both theoretical and practical sessions covering vehicle identification, interior and exterior component familiarisation, operational instructions, safety procedures, turret and gun port handling, and field driving across various terrains such as sand, mud, and rocky inclines. Participants also underwent practical lessons on how to service and maintain the Puma M36.
Thirty-eight Puma M36 vehicles were originally destined for Niger, but after Niger ended military cooperation with the United States and American forces withdrew from that country, these were sent to Benin, Ghana, and Cote d’Ivoire.
On 27 November 2024, the United States officially transferred a dozen of the Pumas to Benin’s military, and a dozen to Cote d’Ivoire’s military on 10 April this year.
The vehicles are Puma M36 Mk 6 versions built by United Manufacturing Technologies (OTT-USA). As the vehicles are donated by the United States, they are required to have majority US content.
OTT-USA was established in 2016 and has proven performance of supplying B7 level armoured vehicles to the US Government for use by partner nations in hostile environments like Somalia. OTT-USA’s flagship vehicle is the Puma M36, which has had its ballistic and blast ratings certified by, among others, the US Army’s Test & Evaluation Command.
“OTT-USA enjoys reach-back support from its sister facilities in Pretoria, South Africa. Together, they are capable of engineering, design, prototyping, testing, manufacturing, servicing, and refurbishment of a range of armoured mobility solutions for military, law enforcement, and other specialty applications like cash-in-transit,” the company’s website states.
OTT has delivered some 600 Puma vehicles to more than a dozen customers across Africa, including peacekeeping contributors – over 200 vehicles were used by the African Union Mission in Somalia between 2012 and 2022 for example, while more than 250 vehicles were used by United Nations missions in Mali between 2014 and 2022.
Since 2019, more than 70 armoured vehicles have been built at OTT’s partner facility in the United States – the order for 38 Pumas from the US government was received in 2023.
The Puma M36 family of vehicles is available with various drive trains, suspensions and options, ranging from Ashok Leyland to Cummins and other transmission options.
