Turkey's first domestic tank 'Altay' to be mass-produced

Turkey's largest privately-owned defense manufacturer Otokar has said it has submitted a final offer to mass produce the country's first-ever, domestic Altay tank.

The final offer included the mass production of 250 Altay tank units and their integrated logistic support operations, said Otokar CEO Serdar Görgüç.

“After our initial offer in January, we submitted our final offer early over the request by the Undersecretary of Defense Industries," said Görgüç, adding they are ready for the mission with our human resources, experience and know-how.

Otokar CEO Görgüç also said that the production will decrease the external dependence of Turkey, as they are ready to mass produce the first national tank of Turkey.

"All the design and intellectual property rights will be held by the Republic of Turkey," he added.

“We believe that Altay will attract attention from other countries following the start of its mass production, even paving the way for production possibilities in other countries with the participation of Turkey's allies in the project," said Görgüç, adding a number of Otokar products are being used by NATO and United Nations forces.

Otokar exports to some 30 countries on five continents.

The company analyzes the different requirements and expectations of almost 50 clients, and it swiftly creates solutions to meet these needs.

The company officials said over 29,000 of its vehicles were on active duty in very different geographies and risky zones around the world.