Commander of the Turkish Land Forces, General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, shared important details about the ALTAY Main Battle Tank during the Winter 2025 Exercise Distinguished Observer Day. General Bayraktaroğlu announced that the ALTAY Tank will participate in the next Winter Exercise and emphasized the tank’s high mobility, survivability, and firepower, which make it a significant asset developed by Turkish engineers.
The integration process of the ALTAY Tank was previously delayed due to Germany’s power unit embargo. However, this issue has been resolved with the integration of a South Korean-produced power unit. Two ALTAY Tanks have already been delivered to the Turkish Armed Forces for testing, and mass production is scheduled to commence between June and August 2025.
Production of the ALTAY Tank will take place at BMC’s Arifiye facility, with plans to expand production capacity at the BMC factory under construction in Ankara. Initially, a total of 251 ALTAY Tanks will be produced for the Turkish Armed Forces. The first 40 units will be equipped with the South Korean power unit, while the remaining units will feature an indigenous power unit developed by BMC POWER.
The ALTAY Tank will be a major addition to the existing Turkish Land Forces inventory, which currently includes Leopard 2A4, Leopard 1, M60TM, M60A3, and M48A5T2 main battle tanks. Among these, the Leopard 2A4 and M60TM, produced by Germany and the United States, are the most modern. The introduction of the ALTAY Tank as a domestic and modern solution marks a significant milestone in Turkey’s defense industry localization efforts.
Designed to meet Turkey’s battlefield needs, the ALTAY Tank offers superior mobility, advanced armor systems, and powerful firepower. If the mass production process progresses as scheduled, the ALTAY Tank is set to enhance the strength of the Turkish Armed Forces in 2025.
