Turkey to showcase national Altay tank at global defense expo
The first Altay tank will roll off the assembly line as early as 2020 and be delivered to the Turkish Land Forces
Turkey’s indigenous Altay tank is set to go on display at the 14th International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF) in Istanbul.
The first Altay tank will roll off the assembly line as early as 2020 and be delivered to the Turkish Land Forces.
In a major development for the defense industry, Istanbul-based BMC on April 24 won the contract to mass produce the country's next-generation main battle tank.
The tank was named after Army Gen. Fahrettin Altay, who commanded the Fifth Cavalry Corps during the Turkish War of Independence.
The Altay, Turkey's first main battle tank development program, includes electronic command and control systems, a 120-mm gun, and armor, all made by Turkish companies.
The tank will use a 120mm smooth-bore gun, with the usual 7.62mm coaxial machine gun and a pintle-mounted 12.7mm machine gun up top.
Studies for a modern battle tank to serve the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) began at the end of the 1990s. The first stage focused on the production of foreign tanks in Turkey with local partners, and searches in that direction continued until 2004.
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