TSAMTO, May 30th. The head of the Department of Defense Industry (SSB) of Turkey, Haluk Gergun, announced the start of mass production of Altai main battle tanks of national design.
According to the Turkish TV company TRT World, with reference to the chairman of the SSB, the new generation Altai tank, manufactured by BMC Defense, has been upgraded to take into account the conduct of modern combat operations.
According to him, many subsystems have been localized and produced by local industry, updated technologies and innovations have been added to enhance the combat capabilities of the tank. Digital technologies are increasingly being integrated, which makes it possible to more accurately and quickly detect the target, aim and defeat the enemy.
"We have started mass production of our national tank. There are countries that want to work with us on this project at the international level, and we are continuing negotiations with them," Gergun added.
As already reported by TSAMTO, on April 23, 2023, at an armored plant in Sakarya province, in the presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a ceremony was held for the transfer of the first two Altai main battle tanks of national design to the Armed Forces for testing.
It was planned that the transferred tanks would be tested as part of the Turkish Armed Forces, after which their mass production and supplies to the troops would begin. As expected, the tests will be completed in 2024, and production will begin in 2025. The first batch of tanks will be equipped with South Korean-made power plants. BMC plans to replace South Korean engines with a national version in 2026. BMC Power is currently developing a 1,500 hp BATU engine in Turkey to equip various armored vehicles, including the Altai MBT. It is assumed that the 12-cylinder V-shaped turbodiesel engine with water cooling will develop a torque of 4,600 nm.
According to R. Erdogan, since the beginning of development in the 2000s, the design of the tank has undergone significant changes. Among the new features of the MBT are the AKKOR active protection system, improved booking, updated fire control and vehicle control systems, an engine transmission unit, fuel and hydraulic pumps, a camouflage network, a periscope developed by the national defense Industry, a gunner's sight, tracks and a tower.
The weight of a tank with a crew of four (commander, gunner, loader and driver) is 65 tons. The armament includes a 120 mm smoothbore cannon, a 7.62mm machine gun paired with it, and an Aselsan remotely controlled SARP armament module mounted on the turret. The maximum firing range of the MBT is 8 km.
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The development of the Altai MBT was carried out under a contract signed by SSM with Otokar in July 2008 with the technical assistance of South Korean Hyundai Rotem. The contract value was $500 million. In total, the Altai project involves the supply of the Turkish Armed Forces in four tranches of 250 units to 1,000 new tanks, the cost of which can be up to 7 billion. euros ($8.24 billion).
The contract for the supply of the first batch of 250 serial MBT "Altai", as well as the provision of related logistical support, was concluded with BMC in November 2018 following the results of the tender.
Turkey hoped to equip Altai with an MTU engine and a Renk transmission, but relations with German manufacturers ceased after the German leadership imposed an embargo on arms supplies to Turkey due to its actions in Syria.
In 2020, BMC signed a supply and integration agreement with two South Korean companies, Doosan Infracore Co. and S&T Dynamics Co., to equip the tank with a 4-stroke 12-cylinder DV27K water-cooled diesel engine with a capacity of 1,500 hp and an EST15K automatic transmission.
At the same time, representatives of the Turkish defense ministry have repeatedly stated that the engine, which will be purchased abroad, is planned to be used only on the first batch of tanks. Subsequent batches are planned to be equipped with national engines.
