The defence industries of Türkiye, South Korea, and India are all making progress by developing weapon systems for their respective national militaries.
Türkiye’s Altay Main Battle Tank Ready for Armed Forces Testing
Turkish automotive manufacturer, BMC Otomotiv Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., officially lifted the covers off a new prototype of the Altay main battle tank (MBT).
Currently, BMC is calling the new variant the “Yeni Altay” or New Altay.
According to BMC, the Yeni Altay incorporates a number of improvements across its armour system, fire control system, fuel and hydraulic pumps, and other areas. It also features an active protection system. It is a different design from the original prototype unveiled in 2014.
BMC’s chief executive officer (CEO), Murat Yalçıntaş, revealed that the company will deliver two prototype Yeni Altay MBTs to the Turkish Armed Force (TSK) for testing. The TSK is expected to complete testing by 2024 and, in turn, BMC could start manufacturing the Yeni Altay by 2025.
The first tranches of the Yeni Altay will use a South Korean engine. However, BMC is planning to configure the tank with the indigenously developed Batu V12 turbodiesel engine from 2026. The Batu V12 will be a 1,500 hp design capable of 4,600Nm of torque.
Otherwise, a significant – and growing – proportion of the Yeni Altay draws on Turkish R&D efforts. These include electronic subsystems, armour, hydraulic systems, cooling systems, and much more.
BMC Defense’s General Manager, Mehmet Karaaslan, revealed that a rescue and mine-clearance vehicle based on the Altay MBT is also under development.
In addition, BMC is also developing the Altuğ, a new 8×8 armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) for the TSK, and the next-generation Firtina-II self-propelled howitzer (SPH). The latter is a further development of the K9-based Firtina SPH which Türkiye had built under license from South Korea.
Arguably, the Altay was the first of Türkiye’s flagship indigenous defence programs. It marked the start of Türkiye’s journey to produce key weapon systems of its own design. However, it also carried the recurring tale on the difficulty of relying on outside suppliers for key inputs, such as engines.
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