Turkiye to start producing its own Altay tank

Turkiye will begin mass production of a promising main battle tank of its own production Altay within two years, it is currently being tested.

The 65-ton vehicle will be outfitted with an Aselsan-developed active protection system, rendering it immune to the most advanced anti-tank missile systems, such as Javelin, Report quoted CNN Turk as saying on May 15.

The creation of a propulsion system, also locally produced, is at the final stage.

It is planned to complete the work in 2023.

The tank, as noted, will be equipped with a new generation of armour, and the firing range will be 8 km. Fire control will be carried out using a computer system.

The contract for the production of Altay was signed in 2018 by the Turkish Defence Industry Department and the BMC company and is estimated at $500 million.

It provides for the production of 250 tanks at the first stage. In total, Ankara's plans include the production of 1,000 pieces of these combat vehicles. In the future, it is planned to release non-emergency options.

Altay is to replace the German Leopard and American M60 tanks in service with the Turkish army.