The TOMA ( tr, Toplumsal Olaylara Müdahale Aracı, en, Intervention Vehicle against Social Incidents) is an armored

water cannon A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-velocity stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of meters. They are used in firefighting, large vehicle washing, riot control, and mining ...

designed for

riot control Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest. If a riot is spontaneous and irratio ...

by Turkish companies Katmerciler, Moğol Makina and Nurol Makina. TOMAs are primarily operated by the

Turkish National Police The General Directorate of Security ( tr, Emniyet Genel Müdürlüğü) or Turkish Police Service ( tr, Türk Polis Teşkilatı) is the national civilian police force responsible for law enforcement of the Republic of Turkey, which is affiliated ...

and the

Turkish Gendarmerie The Gendarmerie General Command ( tr, Jandarma Genel Komutanlığı) is the national Gendarmerie force of the Republic of Turkey. It is a service branch of the Turkish Ministry of Interior responsible for the maintenance of the public order in a ...

. Following the

Gezi Park protests A wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Turkey began on 28 May 2013, initially to contest the urban development plan for Istanbul's Taksim Gezi Park. The protests were sparked by outrage at the violent eviction of a sit-in at the park prote ...

, the Turkish government ordered a total of 73 TOMAs between 2013 and 2014, deploying them to

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

and southeast Turkey. Following their use by Turkish police in crackdowns on protests in Gezi Park, the TOMA received new export orders to countries such as

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

and

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

Technical specifications

TOMAs can be built onto a range of

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

and Iveco truck chassis configurations, and can reach a top speed of 100 km/h. The heavy armor protects the cab, engine and weapons systems of the TOMA from rioters and gunfire, while also allowing it to achieve a 30% gradient climbing capability. Fire extinguishers are provided to put out fires in both the road and the vehicle, and the crew are protected against tear gas and other irritants breaching the cab. The TOMA is primarily equipped with a computer-controlled water cannon system, firing pressurised water from two nozzles, with a water tank capacity of up to that can be filled with water from wells and lakes. The TOMA is also equipped with two tanks for tear gas and dye, as well as an foam tank. The foam, tear gas and dye reserves can be fired individually from the nozzles, or can be used in combination with water. While TOMAs are primarily specified for riot control, they have also been used to water tree saplings planted as a memorial to fallen police officers, clean

CBRN Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRN defence) are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear warfare (including terrorism) hazards may be present. CBRN defence consi ...

equipment, and fight large fires.

Gallery

File:2013 Taksim Gezi Park protests P13.JPG, TOMA in

Taksim Square Taksim Square ( tr, Taksim Meydanı, ), situated in Beyoğlu in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey, is a major tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shops, and hotels. It is considered the heart of modern Istanbul, with the c ...

File:Police action during Gezi park protests in Istanbul. Events of June 16, 2013-2.jpg, TOMA in action during the

File:KatmercilerIDEF2015.JPG, TOMA built by Katmerciler at IDEF 2015

References

Non-lethal weapons Police weapons Riot control weapons Gendarmerie Water Riot control equipment {{mil-vehicle-stub de:Wasserwerfer#Türkei

Technical specifications

Gallery

See also

References