Uzbekistan President visits new KRANTAS plant, unveils domestically designed armored vehicles and 155mm howitzer

NURAFSHAN, Uzbekistan — President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited the Nurafshon Makhsus Tekhnika plant on July 22, 2026, inspecting a range of domestically produced military vehicles that signal Uzbekistan's growing ambitions in indigenous defense manufacturing.

Facility Overview

The KRANTAS-brand facility, built on a 25.8-hectare (63.8-acre) site with a $50 million investment, now employs more than 300 qualified specialists. The plant operates using machinery and technology sourced from a global supply chain spanning the United States, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Russia, China, and Türkiye.

Since beginning operations, the enterprise has produced:

• Approximately 2,500 tonnes (2,756 tons) of steel structures
• More than 300 vehicle bodies
• Over 200 chassis
• 20 tractors

Last year alone, the plant supplied machinery and equipment worth the equivalent of roughly $21 million to customers.

New Military Hardware Unveiled

The company presented several new armored platforms during the president's visit:

• 6×6 and 8×8 armored personnel carriers — wheeled troop transport vehicles designed for armored protection and enhanced mobility over rough terrain
• To'fon 155mm self-propelled howitzer — a large-caliber artillery piece mounted on a mobile chassis for rapid fire-and-relocate capability
• Modernized T-64 tank — a Soviet-era main battle tank upgraded with a new powerplant

According to the company, the armored personnel carriers have completed state trials and are being prepared for serial production on the factory conveyor line.

T-64 Upgrade: Extending Soviet-Era Hardware

The modernized T-64 tank features a significant powerplant replacement. The original Soviet-designed 5TDF five-cylinder diesel engine has been swapped for a South Korean-made DP222LC engine produced by Doosan Infracore, rated at 950 horsepower. This upgrade modernizes the tank's mobility and reliability without the cost of building an entirely new platform.

Company Origins and Homegrown Engineering

Nurafshon Makhsus Tekhnika was founded by two co-founders. In an interview with Uzbekistan 24 television channel, co-founder Akmal Karimov described the company's entry into military manufacturing.

"Five years ago, our enterprise developed and produced an armored vehicle for the first time. The first model was the armored vehicle Tarlon," Karimov said.

The Tarlon was built for Uzbekistan's Armed Forces, National Guard, and Ministry of Internal Affairs. It carries fifth-class ballistic protection — a rating denoting relatively high armor protection against small arms and light weapons fire — and is assembled using European-manufactured components.

Karimov emphasized the vehicle's indigenous design pedigree:

"The design and blueprints for the vehicle were developed by specialists at our enterprise's design bureau. This means the vehicle is not produced under license from a foreign brand, nor based on a project purchased abroad. The project was developed and created from scratch by Uzbek engineers."