Image source: topwar.ru
After 20 years of development, Turkey launched the Altay tank into mass production on September 5 at the BMC Otomotiv plant near Ankara. 3 MBTs are to be transferred to the army in 2025, 11 in 2026, 41 in 2027 and 30 in 2028.
- said the contractor.
In connection with this news, the American edition of Military Watch indicates that the Altay could become the most powerful tank in the region and "potentially be able to change the balance of power in the Middle East."
Altay has gone through a rather difficult path of formation. In the 2010s, Leopard 2 tanks purchased by Ankara, which participated in combat operations on the Syrian and Iraqi fronts, proved vulnerable to attacks by ISIS* [* a terrorist organization banned in Russia], which caused controversy about their effectiveness. The publication Stars and Stripes wrote that the Leopard 2's reputation was "catastrophically undermined in the battles with ISIS," and The National Interest noted that the tank "revealed a shocking vulnerability."
The Turkish generals called this experience "traumatic" and insisted on the need to switch to a new car. This has intensified work on the creation of a new MBT.
Image source: topwar.ru
As indicated in the South Korean edition of Now News, Altay, although developed on the basis of K2, has significant differences. It is longer and equipped with 7 pairs of rollers instead of 6. The introduction of a manual loading system increased the crew from 3 to 4 people, and the rate of fire decreased from 12 rounds per minute to 6. However, armor protection was significantly enhanced, which increased survivability, but also reduced mobility.
- the conclusion is made in the publication.
Image source: topwar.ru
A columnist from the South Korean resource Bemil went even further in his assessment:
For our part, we note that this conclusion looks ambiguous. On the one hand, Russian troops in Ukraine often penetrate enemy defenses, relying on sedentary turtle tanks fully armored. On the other hand, many MBTs demonstrate high efficiency, on the contrary, relying on rapid maneuver.
