Turkey wants eight Altay battle tanks yearly from new BMC factory

ISTANBUL — Turkey launched serial production of its Altay main battle tank this week, delivering the first two units to the Turkish Armed Forces during the opening of BMC’s Ankara Tank and New Generation Armored Vehicle Production Facility.

According to BMC Chairman Fuat Tosyalı, the new facility is designed for a monthly output of eight Altay tanks and around ten 8x8 Altuğ armored vehicles, thanks to modular production lines that can be reconfigured for different platforms.

The planned capacity equals up to 96 Altay tanks per year, a figure confirmed by Defense Industries Agency (SSB) President Haluk Görgün.

More than 1,500 engineers and technicians are expected to work at the site, while Görgün cited a broader industrial ecosystem of about 800 engineers, 1,250 workers, and 90 subcontractors supporting the program. Each Altay will be delivered with a two-year warranty and six years of logistical support, he added.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said deliveries of Altay tanks would begin this year and increase in the coming years, while the ongoing modernization of Leopard 2A4 tanks for the Turkish Land Forces will continue in parallel.

The tank’s development and qualification phase involved more than 1.5 million engineering hours, 35,000 kilometers of mobility testing, and 3,700 live-fire trials, Erdoğan said. The Altay weighs 65 tons, has a maximum speed of 65 km/h on paved roads and 45 km/h off-road.

Major Turkish defense contractors Aselsan, Havelsan, Roketsan, and MKE are key partners in the project. The integration of local subsystems such as Aselsan’s AKKOR active protection system and indigenous fire-control and electronic systems were highlighted as part of the broader localization effort.

The Altay is armed with a 120mm L55-caliber smoothbore main gun, a coaxial 7.62mm machine gun, and a remote-controlled weapon station mounting either a 12.7mm or 7.62mm machine gun.

The first 85 tanks will be powered by a South Korean-made engine and transmission, while subsequent units will transition to BMC Power’s indigenous BATU power pack starting around 2026 or 2027.

Development of the Altay began in the late 2000s under a contract awarded to Otokar, which produced several prototypes before the project transitioned to BMC in 2018 for mass production.

A total of 250 Altay tanks are planned for production under the initial order. The Altay will gradually replace aging Leopard 1 and M60 tanks in the Turkish Army, becoming the backbone of the country’s armored forces into the 2030s.

Cem Devrim Yaylali is a Turkey correspondent for Defense News. He is a keen photographer of military ships and has a passion for writing about naval and defense issues. He was born in Paris, France, and resides in Istanbul, Turkey. He is married with one son.

伊斯坦布尔——本周，土耳其启动了其阿尔泰主战坦克的批量生产，并在BMC安卡拉坦克和新一代装甲车辆生产设施的开幕式上向土耳其武装部队交付了首批两辆坦克。

据BMC董事长Fuat Tosyalı称，新工厂的设计产能为每月8辆Altay坦克和约10辆8x8 Altuğ装甲车，这得益于可重新配置以适应不同平台的模块化生产线。

计划产能相当于每年最多可生产 96 辆 Altay 坦克，国防工业局 (SSB) 局长 Haluk Görgün 证实了这一数字。

预计将有超过1500名工程师和技术人员在现场工作。Görgün还提到，整个产业生态系统拥有约800名工程师、1250名工人以及90家分包商为该项目提供支持。他补充说，每台Altay设备都将享有两年质保和六年后勤支持。

土耳其总统雷杰普·塔伊普·埃尔多安表示，Altay坦克的交付将于今年开始，并在未来几年内增加，与此同时，土耳其陆军正在进行的豹2A4坦克现代化改造工作也将同步进行。

埃尔多安表示，该坦克的研发和鉴定阶段耗费了超过150万工时，进行了3​​.5万公里的机动性测试，以及3700次实弹射击试验。阿尔泰坦克重65吨，在铺装路面上的最高时速为65公里/小时，在非铺装路面上的最高时速为45公里/小时。

土耳其主要国防承包商阿塞尔桑（Aselsan）、哈维尔桑（Havelsan）、罗克特桑（Roketsan）和MKE是该项目的关键合作伙伴。作为更广泛的本土化努力的一部分，项目重点强调了本地子系统（例如阿塞尔桑的AKKOR主动防护系统）与国产火控和电子系统的集成。

“阿尔泰”坦克配备一门120毫米L55口径滑膛主炮、一挺7.62毫米同轴机枪，以及一个可安装12.7毫米或7.62毫米机枪的遥控武器站。

首批 85 辆坦克将采用韩国制造的发动机和变速箱，而后续的坦克将从 2026 年或 2027 年左右开始过渡到 BMC Power 自主研发的 BATU 动力包。

Altay 的研发始于 2000 年代后期，当时 Otokar 公司获得了合同，生产了几个原型车，之后该项目于 2018 年移交给 BMC 公司进行批量生产。

根据首批订单，计划生产共计250辆阿尔泰坦克。阿尔泰坦克将逐步取代土耳其陆军老旧的豹1和M60坦克，成为该国装甲部队在2030年代的主力。

杰姆·德夫里姆·亚伊拉利是《防务新闻》驻土耳其记者。他热衷于拍摄军舰，并对海军和国防议题充满热情。他出生于法国巴黎，现居土耳其伊斯坦布尔。他已婚，育有一子。