# Wagner operating Proforce Ara II MRAP

- Link: https://www.military.africa/2024/12/wagner-operating-proforce-ara-ii-mrap/
- Published: 2024-12-02T09:51:46+01:00
- Author: Military Africa

Russian private military company Wagner Group are operating the Nigerian-made [Proforce Ara II mine resistant and ambush protected vehicle (MRAP)](https://www.military.africa/2019/07/proforce-ara-mk-2-mine-resistant-ambush-protected-mrap-unveiled/)
in Mali.

Wagner soldiers were photographed using a white-painted Ara II MRAP. The Proforce
Ara II armored vehicles were likely abandoned in Kidal by MINUSMA forces during 
its [rushed departure from Mali](https://www.military.africa/2023/08/minusma-begins-exiting-mali-close-camps/).
The Chadian contingent stationed there left the vehicles behind.

![](https://www.military.africa/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241202_94904-scaled.
jpg)

![](https://www.military.africa/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241202_094905-768x1024.
jpg)

Proforce ARA II MRAPS in Mali. (Credit in images.)

In 2022, the Chadian government [signed a contract](https://www.military.africa/2019/07/chadian-government-orders-twenty-proforce-ara-2-mrap/)
with Proforce for the sale of 100 improved Ara (Ara 2) mine-resistant ambush-protected(
MRAP) vehicles.

The business was first finalised in June 2019 and deliveries are expected to begin
before the end of the year in successive batches of five vehicles. The deal was 
signed after [South Africa’s Denel failed to supply](https://www.military.africa/2020/09/proforce-nigeria-snatches-south-africas-denels-mrap-deal/#google_vignette)
40 Military Vehicles to Chad in an order signed in 2017. The Chadian Government 
paid R100 Million as a down payment for these vehicles. The total cost was between
R230 Million and R250 Million.

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Chad subsequently cancelled the contract with Denel, and even threatened to report
Denel and South Africa to the International Court of Justice if its deposit was 
not returned.

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Two years after the debacle, the [Chadian Government opted for 20 Proforce Ara II MRAP](https://www.military.africa/2020/09/proforce-nigeria-snatches-south-africas-denels-mrap-deal/#google_vignette)
s, with the option for a 100 more.

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N’Djamena’s decision to procure the Proforce Ara 2 comes after a major incursion
by the Union of Resistance Forces (UFR) from Libya which was halted by French airstrikes
alongside Chadian ground troops.

The Ara 2 MRAP has the capacity to carry up to 12 personnel plus equipment and can
be configured into multiple variants including recovery, command and control, ambulance,
field kitchen and reconnaissance. The vehicle can be armed with a 12.7 mm machinegun
can be mounted on a 360-degree roof turret which can be open or fully enclosed.

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