The Turkish Armed Forces will start testing two Turkish Altay battle tanks at the end of April. This was announced by a member of the board of BMC Power, which was engaged in the development of tank components, Murat Yalchyntash. His words lead Anadolu.
According to Mr. Yalcintas, the tests of the machines will last until 2024, following which the issue of mass production, which is planned to be launched in Ankara, will be decided. From 2026, the tank will be able to be equipped with a completely domestic engine and transmission on an ongoing basis. In the future, the tank will go into service with the Turkish army. Murat Yalchyntash noted that requests for the supply of tanks come from many foreign countries.
Mehmet Karaaslan, Director General of the Defense Department of BMC Power, specified that there were forced delays in the implementation of the initial project of the Altay tank due to problems with obtaining an imported engine and transmission. In particular, we are talking regarding problems with obtaining an export license from Germany to supply Turkey with an engine, suspension and some other tank systems. In this regard, it was decided to reorient the project completely to domestic capacities. Thus, an engine with a capacity of 1.5 thousand liters was created. With. In addition, the active protection system of the tank and its armor, as well as fire guidance and control systems, were improved.
The first sample of the Altay tank was presented in May 2011 at an arms exhibition in Istanbul. The Turkish Armed Forces ordered its development to replace the German tanks Leopard 1 and Leopard 2, as well as the American M48 and M60. The tank is named following General of the Army Fahrettin Altai, who commanded a cavalry corps during the Turkish War of Independence 1919–1923.