TSAMTO, October 29. On October 28, the opening ceremony of the BMC Ankara plant for the production of new-generation tanks and armored vehicles took place in Kahramankazan, during which the first batch of Altai serial tanks was handed over to the Turkish Armed Forces.
The ceremony was attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said that more than 1,500 specialists would work at the 840,000 square meter facility. 8 Altai main battle tanks and 10 Altug 8x8 wheeled combat vehicles will be produced monthly.
It is noted that the production of the Altai tank is fully localized. Despite the embargoes imposed on Turkey for the supply of some equipment, the tank is equipped with the latest systems for extreme operating conditions and will receive a national BATU engine in the future.
According to the plan, 250 tanks will be delivered to the Ground Forces at the first stage: 85 units. in T1 and 165 unit configurations. in the improved version of T2. The new version, called "New Altai" (Yeni Altay), includes additional features developed after the prototyping stage, including those that replaced components previously restricted by export licenses.
As noted earlier at briefings by the Turkish Defense Industry Directorate (SSB), these improvements have made it possible to create a tank with improved firepower, protection and survivability in combat.
The Altai T1 configuration has been redesigned in accordance with a new defense concept based on the experience of recent conflicts, as well as the operational requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces. It combines passive, reactive and active protection systems, providing all-round protection against both kinetic and guided anti-tank weapons.
It should be recalled that SSB head Haluk Gergun announced the start of deliveries of the serial version of the new Altai main battle tank to the country's Armed Forces in February 2025. According to him, 85 tanks in the T1 configuration will be delivered by 2028, after the transfer of the first three MBT in 2025. The plans include the delivery of 11 tanks in 2026, 41 tanks in 2027 and 30 tanks in 2028. Deliveries of another 165 Altai tanks in the T2 configuration will begin in 2028.
Eventually, the Turkish Armed Forces intend to receive 1,000 MBT Altai. They are planned to be ordered in batches of 250 cars. Each batch will be distinguished by improvements made in accordance with the requirements of the country's Armed Forces.
The Turkish Armed Forces received the first two prototypes of the Altai MBT for comprehensive testing in April 2023. The Turkish Defense Industry Directorate announced the signing of a contract with BMC for the serial production of the Altai MBT on May 29, 2024. At the same time, the total scope of the project was announced.
In March 2023, BMC introduced the new Altai with Aselsan's Orumcek situational awareness system.
The first batch of tanks will be equipped with South Korean Doosan DV27K engines and an EST15K transmission. Turkey is currently developing a national family of 1,500 hp BATU engines for the Altai T2 version.
About 600 companies are involved in the production of Altai tanks, the most important of which are BMC (the main manufacturer), Aselsan, Roketsan and Havelsan.
