Türkiye has announced the mass production of its national Altay main battle tank, the most important project for the Turkish defense industry. The manufacturing of these vehicles is focused on specially built industrial facilities of the BMC Defense company. The domestic BATU power plant will also be produced here.
According to the Turkish Anadolu Agency, which managed to visit the "behind the scenes" of Altay tank production, the delivery of the first serial vehicle should take place together with the official opening of the enterprise. It is noted that all production stages will be carried out at the new production facilities using the latest technologies — from hull making to the final assembly of the tank.
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"We had begun making engines that produce 400-1500 horsepower, which are needed for our land and sea vehicles. Now, thank God, our tank factory, whose foundation we laid last year during Ramadan, has begun mass production. We toured and saw it today. Hopefully, after the official opening ceremony very soon, it will continue production to meet the defense industry needs of our forces and friendly countries," said Fuat Tosyalı, Chairman of the Board of Directors of BMC.
However, there is no information in the Turkish press about the date of the official opening of this enterprise.
In general, the Altay tank project can be called a long-term project — the national tank production project MİTÜP (Milli Tank Üretimi Projesi) dates back to the 1990s. At the same time, BMC received a contract from the Turkish Defense Industry Directorate in November 2018. At that time, BMC replaced Otakar, which had been working on the project for eleven years since 2007.
Later, in 2023, 11 years after the first prototype appeared, the Turkish army received the first Altay tanks for testing. In May 2024, it became known about the conclusion of a contract for the serial production of these tanks.
It is known that this year the Turkish military should receive only the first three serial vehicles, then 11 more next year, and 41 vehicles in two years, followed by a steady delivery rate of around 30 vehicles annually.
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