When will the long-awaited Altay Tank enter the TAF inventory? What studies and innovations were made with the Altay Tank? We have brought together all the curious information about the features of the tank, which will be included in the inventory, and the future plans of the tank developed by BMC Defense for you.
All the curious about the new Altay tank!
We met with BMC CEO Murat Yalçıntaş, BMC Defense General Manager Mehmet Karaaslan and BMC Power General Manager Mustafa Kaval as part of the BMC Defense Press and Media Meeting held in Sakarya on Wednesday, 22 March. We asked those who were curious about the ongoing important projects, especially the Altay tank. There are also features and abilities differences between the Altay tank, the foundations of which were laid in 2008, and the new Altay tank in its final form today.
shiftdelete.netWhat are the differences in the new Altay tank?
The project, which was developed on the power group to be imported from Germany, was delayed after Germany’s decision not to supply products related to engine and power group to Turkey. Having worked closely with South Korea in the production of the Storm T-155 howitzer before, Turkey will be the first to use the Korean-made power group in the Altay tank, after South Korea has completed the power group work, especially the engine and transmission. Then, after the second half of 2026, our 1500 HP domestic power group will be used.
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When will the Altay tank enter the TAF inventory?
Production of the new Altay tank has been completed. Together with the power group from Korea, 2 units will be delivered to the Turkish Armed Forces on April 23, 2023 for the completion of the test procedures. The design work for the domestic power group has now been completed. Prototypes were produced. The tests have begun. These tests are expected to take 2.5 years. After an average of 3 years, the Altay tank will appear with a domestic power group. This is said to be around the second half of 2026.
Which technologies are native?
After the Altay tank configuration produced in 2014, we have brought together the innovations in the new Altay for you. We have often seen the need for active protection against new generation anti-tank missiles in our tanks, especially in Syria operations.
The new Altay tank also has an active protection system and a new armor system developed with Bor Carbide. In other words, the Altay tank offers security at today’s standards. Active protection system, improved armor system, renewed fire control system, renewed vehicle control system and changed power group are the main differences compared to the previous Altay model.
The systems localized in the new Altay tank are;
- speed reducer
- Sniper 2nd Degree sight system
- Palette
- Tower Ring gear
- Rotor
- ammunition rack
- Periscopes
- Fuel and hydraulic pumps
- mobile cloaking network
Domestic engine projects
In the upcoming period, we will also start domestic engine and power group production for both the Altay tank and other light and heavy armored models. The developed domestic engine group will be as follows.
- Shot by: 375 – 400 hp
- Azra: 585 – 610 hp
- Triumph: 1000 GB power group project
- Batu power group project: 1500 hp
We will see the 1500 HP Batu power group project in the Altay tank. As the engine power decreases, these engines will be used in lighter armored vehicles and rubber-tyred armored vehicles. These engines are expected to be put into use towards the end of 2026.
Where will the Altay tank be produced?
We went to the Tank Pallet factory in Arifiye to see the Altay tank. We also asked questions about the tank pallet factory in Arifiye. Established in 1973, the factory has been serving for 50 years. It has a total area of 1,814,000 m2. Its circumference is 8.5 km. Transferred to BMC Defense on 21 August 2019. It will be returned to the MSB at the end of the 25-year operational period. Intellectual property rights of all products such as Fırtına burbu and Altay Tank produced in this factory belong to Turkey. The rights of all vehicles belong to SSM.
How many people work, what do they do?
In the Arifiye factory, where 754 blue-collar and 449 white-collar personnel work in total, 1194 personnel are employed in this area, where the privatization of the Storm howitzers and developments for new models, the development of the Altay tank and new armored personnel carriers are carried out.
Apart from these, 81 Leopard 2A4 modernization, mine clearance tank project, tank rescuer project, new generation storm howitzer project, Poyraz ammunition loading vehicle project. Many projects such as the new generation wheeled vehicles project are also being worked on.