Altay ''(English: Red foal/colt or Altai)'' is a Turkish

fourth generation Fourth generation may refer to: * 4G, the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards * Fourth-generation programming language * Fourth-generation jet fighter * Fourth generation warfare, conflict characterized by a blurring of the lines betwe ...

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank or simply tank,Ogorkiewicz 2018 p222 is a tank that fills the role of armour-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more po ...

Otokar Otokar Otomotiv ve Savunma Sanayi A.Ş., also known simply as Otokar, is a Turkish bus and military vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Sakarya, Turkey. Otokar is a subsidiary of Koç Holding. History Otokar was founded in 1963 as Turkey' ...

based on South Korean

K2 Black Panther K2 Black Panther () is a South Korean List of main battle tanks by generation#Fourth Generation, fourth-generation main battle tank (MBT), designed by the Agency for Defense Development and manufactured by Hyundai Rotem. The tank's design bega ...

to be produced by BMC under design assistance and

technology transfer Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform invent ...

Hyundai Rotem Hyundai Rotem Company, often referred to as Hyundai Rotem (), is a South Korean manufacturer of railway rolling stock, railway signalling, defense products and plant equipment. It is a member of Hyundai Motor Group and has presence in more than ...

. It is named in honor of Army General

Fahrettin Altay Fahrettin Altay (12 January 1880 – 25 October 1974) was a Turkish military officer. His surname "Altay" (''Red horse/colt'') was given to him by Atatürk. The Turkish tank Altay is named in honor of him. Biography Fahrettin Altay was born ...

who commanded the 5th Cavalry Corps in the final stage of the

Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

. With a unit cost of 13.75 million dollars, the tank design cost is on par with and competitive when compared with relative projects. The first mass production of Altay will be combined with MKE made 55 calibre 120 mm main gun, Roketsan made both advanced composite and

reactive armor Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour used in protecting vehicles, especially modern tanks, against shaped charges and hardened kinetic energy penetrators. The most common type is ''explosive reactive armour'' (ERA), but variants includ ...

package along with Aselsan made electronics such as active protection, remote controlled weapon and

fire control system A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a Director (military), director and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs th ...

s while using

HD Hyundai Infracore HD Hyundai Infracore Co., Ltd. (), formerly known as Doosan Infracore, is a South Korean company that manufactures construction equipment and commercial and military engines. It is one of the largest construction equipment manufacturers by sales ...

engine and

SNT Dynamics SNT Dynamics Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean defense and commercial auto parts, autocannons and machine tools manufacturer founded in 1959. Its heavy weapons equip most frontline units of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. The company was designa ...

transmission. The tank is in production according to the Turkish media. According to the latest information published on January 2, 2025, mass production of the ''Altay'' officially began in May 2024 and the tank is set to enter the Turkish Army’s inventory starting in August 2025.

History and development

The National Tank Production Project (Turkish: ''MİTÜP – Milli Tank Üretimi Projesi'') was an initiative developed in the mid-1990s to establish independent and robust infrastructure for the production, development and maintenance of main battle tanks used by the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; , TSK) are the armed forces, military forces of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. The TAF consist of the Turkish Army, Land Forces, the Turkish Navy, Naval Forces and the Turkish Air Force, Air Forces. The Chief of ...

. In order to improve the current technical capabilities of the Turkish defense industries and increase the amount of domestic contribution towards national defense, the Undersecreteriat for Defense Industries decided that a "National Tank" will serve as a catalyst for uniting certain Turkish defense companies around a common goal and for providing the Turkish military with extra firepower in the form of a modern tank. The tank design benefited from design assistance and transfer of technology by

. The project was initiated with an agreement signed between

and the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries of the

Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

on 30 March 2007, when the Defense Industries Executive Committee awarded a contract worth approximately $500 million to Otokar for the design, development and production of four prototypes of a national

. On July 29, 2008, Turkey and Hyundai Rotem signed a ₩500 billion (approximately US$540 million) design assistance and technology transfer contract for tank development. This contract consists of design assistance and technology transfer related to the development of systems, armor packages, and 120 mm guns necessary for the development of Altay tanks, and includes design assistance and technology transfer of Hyundai Rotem,

Hyundai WIA Hyundai WIA Corporation (), formerly known as WIA (World Industries Ace; ) is a member of the Hyundai Motor Group and is the second biggest automotive parts manufacturer in South Korea. As one of the core companies of Hyundai Motor Group, it i ...

, and

Agency for Defense Development The Agency for Defense Development (ADD, ) is the South Korean government agency for research and development in defense technology, funded by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). It was established in August 1970 under the ban ...

throughout the development process. The Turkish Ministry of Defense allocated a budget of $1 billion for the development of the Altay. This is Turkey's first MBT development program since 1943, when prototypes of a Turkish national tank were produced in

Kırıkkale Kırıkkale is a city in the Central Anatolia Region, Turkey, Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Kırıkkale Province and Kırıkkale District. In 2012, Otokar General Manager Serdar Görgüç has announced that the company is considering the development of an electric engine for the Altay. However, the electric engine probably no longer in consideration. The military electronics company Aselsan manufactures and integrates the Volkan III modular fire control system, command, control and information systems, while state-owned MKEK (Mechanical and Chemical Industries Corporation) produce

MKE 120 mm tank gun The MKE 120 mm gun is a Turkish 120 mm 55 caliber smoothbore gun based on the CN08 120 mm gun produced by the Turkish company Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation, used on the Turkish Altay tank. The gun has a length of . The gun can fir ...

. Another state company Roketsan produce an indigenous armor. The first prototype Altay was ready for use by the end of 2016. Once the prototypes are produced and tested, the Undersecreteriat for Defense Industries of the Republic of Turkey will prepare and execute a separate order for the first lot of 250 tanks. A total of 1000 MBTs are planned to be produced in four separate lots of 250 units. Every delivered lot is expected to have additional upgrades. Otokar completed all infrastructure planning and programming for mass production. Koç Holding Vice Chair and Otokar Chair Ali Koç said mass production was expected to start 18–22 months after their offer was accepted. However, on 9 November 2018, Turkish

Presidency of Defense Industries In Turkey, Defence Industry Agency ( (SSB)); formerly ''Presidency of Defence Industries'' and ''Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM)'' before that, is a civil institution established by the government to manage the Defence industry of T ...

signed agreement with BMC for mass production of the tank. In the process, BMC replaced Otokar as the main contractor and responsible for further developments. The production of Altay has been delayed since 2018, as the programme was relying on German 1,500 hp MTU engines and RENK transmissions, because of the German federal arms embargo on Turkey due to their involvement in the Syrian Civil War. However, BMC Power, a subsidiary of BMC, replaced MTU as engine subcontractor for 1,500 hp engine. BMC Power is the designer and manufacturer of the serial production BATU V12 1,500 hp engine. On 10 March 2021, BMC announced that it plans to import a Korean power pack that combines

Doosan Infracore HD Hyundai Infracore Co., Ltd. (), formerly known as Doosan Infracore, is a South Korean company that manufactures construction equipment and commercial and military engines. It is one of the largest construction equipment manufacturers by sales ...

(now

) DV27K engine and

EST15K transmission and complete the performance test of the Altay tank according to Turkey's own standards as soon as possible. On 11 August 2021, the

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Defense Acquisition Program Administration The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA, ) is a central administrative agency of the South Korean Ministry of National Defense. It was founded on 1 January 2006 as part of a comprehensive reform of defense acquisition, including the ...

announced that it was looking for a Korean company to develop an improved SNT Dynamics EST15K transmission for use in Altay and

. On 7 October 2021, the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced that it is looking for a Korean company to develop an indigenous

Transmission control unit A transmission control unit (TCU), also known as a transmission control module (TCM), or a gearbox control unit (GCU), is a type of automotive ECU that is used to control electronic automatic transmissions. Similar systems are used in conjunctio ...

to replace the German Transmission control unit used in the SNT Dynamics EST15K transmission to export transmissions to Turkey. On 22 October 2021, Kang Eun-ho, head of South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration, said he had approved the export of Hyundai Doosan Infracore DV27K engines and SNT Dynamics EST15K transmissions to Turkey during a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (; born 5 February 1968) is a Turkish diplomat and politician who is currently a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Grand National Assembly. He also served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Turkey), Minister o ...

visiting South Korea. At the Antalya Diplomacy Forum held on March 11, 2022, Dr. Ismail Demir, president of Turkish Defense Industries (SSB), revealed that he was testing Hyundai Doosan Infracore DV27K engine and SNT Dynamics EST15K transmission imported from South Korea and he said in May that he will be able to see a prototype of Altay that combines Korean engines and transmissions. In August 2022, the durability test of the powerpack combined with the DV27K engine and EST15K transmission imported from South Korea is underway, and if the durability test succeeds, the first 250 Altay will be produced by integrating the Korean powerpack. In his speech at the handover ceremony of the new generation of assault howitzers (MSB Arifiye Campus BMC Plant / Sakarya), President Erdogan said that two new Altay tanks will be manufactured in 2023. On 30 January 2023, BMC signed a supply agreement with SNT Dynamics to purchase the EST15K transmission. The agreement includes a supply contract (approximately €68.926 million) to procure 90 transmissions by December 2027 and an option contract (approximately €130,900 million) to procure an additional 150 transmissions by December 2030. In March 2023, BMC announced it planned to deliver two Altay tanks to the Turkish Armed Forces in April 2023 for field tests expected to last 1.5 to two years, with mass production planned for 2025. Given the number of changes to the project, the company is now referring to the tank as the "Yeni Altay" (New Altay). Mass production started in May 2024.

Contractors and subcontractors

Subsequently, in accordance with the later Defense Industries Executive Committee ruling, subcontractors were selected as follows: *Design and development including prototypes: Otokar *Design assistance and transfer of technology: Hyundai Rotem *Transfer of 120 mm 55 caliber smoothbore gun production technology: Hyundai WIA *Armor package technology transfer and supply of ceramic bulletproof plates for main battle tank:

Samyang Comtech Samyang Comtech Co., Ltd. () or Samyang Composite Technology is a South Korean manufacturer of bulletproof ballistic armors founded in 1962. It was designated as a defense contractor by the South Korean government in 1973 and supplies bulletpr ...

*Armor package design assistance:

Poongsan Corporation Poongsan Corporation () is a South Korean manufacturer of copper and alloy materials, ammunition and precision forging products founded in 1968. The company's main business areas are non-ferrous metal processing, such as bi-metallic coins and cop ...

* Main contractor, manufacturer and responsible for further developments: BMC (replaced Otokar as main contractor) * Engine subcontractor: HD Hyundai Infracore (replaced BMC Power as the first mass production engine subcontractor) * Transmission subcontractor: SNT Dynamics (replaced BMC Power as the first mass production transmission subcontractor) * Fire Control System, Active Protection Systems, Command Control Communication Information System, Laser Warning System, Driver's Vision System, Navigation System, IFF system subcontractor: Aselsan * 120 mm 55 caliber smoothbore gun subcontractor: state owned MKEK (Mechanical and Chemical Industries Corporation) * Armor package subcontractor: Roketsan * Approximately 200 subcontractors

Prototypes

On 29 April 2009, the Subsecretary for Defence Industries of Turkey, Murad Bayar has confirmed at the 9th IDEX International, Defense Industry Fair in Abu Dhabi, that the Turkish tank will be manufactured using only Turkish resources. He added that the research started last week and that he expected to create an authentic tank model specially designed for the needs of the Turkish Armed Forces within 3 years. As of September 2010, with approval of the tank subsystems and software by Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, Conceptual Design Phase of the Altay project has been completed. Thus, the project advanced to Detailed Design Phase scheduled to last 30.5 months. The scope of the Detailed Design Phase is to design and integrate interfaces for the selected tank subsystems. On 15 October 2010, Otokar signed a contract with MTU and Renk for the supply of power pack. On 15 December 2010, Defence Industry Executive Committee decided to start the development of national power pack. On 10 May 2011, Aselsan was contracted by the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries to design and develop two Battlefield Target Identification Device (BTID) prototypes. On 11 May 2011, the mock-up of the Altay was introduced to the public in IDEF2011. On 18 October 2012, the first Altay was put on trials although lacking side skirts and using a mock-up turret to simulate a real turret. On 16 November 2012, two pre-prototype types, named Altay MTR (Mobility Test Rig) and Altay FTR (

Firepower Firepower is the military capability to direct force at an enemy. It involves the whole range of potential weapons. The concept is generally taught as one of the three key principles of modern warfare wherein the enemy forces are destroyed or ...

Test Rig), successfully passed initial acceptance tests, paving the way for serial production 2 years earlier than expected, with two more prototypes to be built by 2013 or 2014. On 7 November 2016, MTR, FTR, PV1 and PV2 (Pilot Vehicle) prototypes made by Otokar were delivered to the

Turkish Land Forces The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the foun ...

, and their acceptance tests were expected to finish in the last quarter of 2016 or early 2017. In May 2019, BMC unveiled Altay's Baseline serial production model, named T1, at the IDEF Defense Exhibition. On 23 April 2023, 2 T2 variant Altays were delivered to TAF for further evaluation and testing.

Design

The tank will benefit both from indigenously developed systems and from technologies of the K2 Black Panther, accorded by an agreement signed with South Korea. The main armament of the tank is the 120 mm 55 caliber smoothbore gun, which was redesigned under license based on the CN08 120 mm gun of the K2 Black Panther. The

thermal sleeve A thermal sleeve, or blanket, is a device around the length of a gun barrel of a large caliber gun, typically found on modern tanks. Its primary purpose is to provide a more consistent temperature to the gun barrel, preventing distortions due to ...

of the

gun barrel A gun barrel is a crucial part of gun-type weapons such as small arms, small firearms, artillery pieces, and air guns. It is the straight shooting tube, usually made of rigid high-strength metal, through which a contained rapid expansion of high ...

is equipped with a gun stabilizer configured with a static muzzle reference system (SMRS). The armor package was modified based on the K2's Korean Special Armor Plate (KSAP), but was redesigned for higher ballistic protection in the Altay and will include

CBRN defense Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense (CBRN defense) or Nuclear, biological, and chemical protection (NBC protection) is a class of protective measures taken in situations where chemical warfare, chemical, biological warfar ...

elements, to protect it from

chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

biological Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

radiological In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'' consisting of photons, such as radio waves, microwaves, infr ...

and

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics * Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

weapons. Also there will be add-on

. The planned maximum speed of the first batch is set at , provided by an engine and the MBTs will be able to function under of water. The first mass production tank will be powered by 1,500 hp (1,110 kW) DV27K engines and EST15K transmissions (6 forward, 3 reverse gears) designed by Hyundai Doosan Infracore (now HD Hyundai Infracore) and SNT Dynamics in South Korea. whereas the latter batches may powered by an BMC Power BATU V12 12 cylinder V type engine. The suspension system adopts

's non-active in-arm suspension unit (ISU) and includes a track tension system that automatically adjusts the tension of the track. While moving at high speeds, to evade ATGM attacks, sudden braking and manoeuvering at severe angles are capabilities that were taken into consideration from early developmental stages. An isolated ammunition compartment (turret bustle) is designed to protect tank crew, alongside fire and explosion suppression systems that are to activate when hit or when the tank is involved in an accident. The tank is to be equipped with sensors for the detection of contaminated air from chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. The tank also has hunter-killer engagement capability. ASELSAN made electronic systems produced within the scope of Altay Mass Production Project; Fire Control System, Electric Gun and Turret Engagement System, Command Control Communication and Information System, Driver Vision System, Laser Warning System, Remote Controlled Weapon System, Battlefield Recognition and Identification System, Close Range Surveillance System, AKKOR Active Protection System and embedded training It provides tools to provide user/maintenance training for these products with its simulator.

Production

In February 2025, Haluk Görgün announced that deliveries of ALTAY tanks in the T1 configuration will begin as of 2025. 3 ALTAY T1 tanks will be delivered in 2025 (5 total delivered). These deliveries are expected to be made in August. 85 tanks in T1 configuration will be delivered, followed by 11 ALTAY tanks in 2026, 41 tanks in 2027 and then 30 tanks. The South Korean power group will be used in the first 40 ALTAY tanks, then the domestic power group will be used and the 1500 horsepower BATU will be used.

Experiments and variants

Prototypes

*Altay MTR (Mobility Test Rig) – first pre-prototype vehicle for testing the mobility of Altay, released in 2012. *Altay FTR (Firepower Test Rig) – second pre-prototype vehicle for Altay's Firepower Test Released in 2012. *Altay PV (Pilot Vehicle) – experimental model for demonstrating the developed technology, these vehicles were also called Pilot Vehicles and numbered PV1 through PV2. These vehicles are also the last prototypes for developing serial production variants. The vehicles were developed in 2015 and then subjected to endurance tests, developer tests, operator tests, and

integrated logistics support Integrated logistics support (ILS) is a technology in the system engineering to lower a product life cycle cost and decrease demand for logistics by the maintenance (technical), maintenance system optimization to ease the product support. Althoug ...

tests until 2016.

Variants

*Altay T1 – baseline prototype variant. Will not be serial produced. *Altay T2 – improved serial production variant. *Altay T3 – planned variant with unmanned turret. *Altay AHT (Asimetrik Harp Tankı) – Altay AHT "urban operations tank" was showcased by Otokar at the IDEF'17 defense and aerospace show in Istanbul on May 9–12. The tank is equipped with a directional dozer blade. The tank is probably related to Altay T2. * Bridge Layer, Mine Clearing and Recovery Vehicle variant.

Foreign interest

According to reports, a military envoy from

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

was present at the 2010 press meeting hosted by the Undersecreteriat for Defense Industries of the Republic of Turkey to obtain more information about the tank. In April 2013, officials of the

Saudi Arabian Army The Saudi Arabian Army (), officially the Royal Saudi Land Forces (), is the principal land warfare branch of the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia. It is part of the Saudi Ministry of Defense, which is one of the two military departments of the gove ...

reportedly became interested in the Altay main battle tank, and at IDEF-2013, the

Azerbaijan Army The Azerbaijani Land Forces () are the land force component of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan has been trying to create professional, well trained, and mobile armed forces. Based on 2013 statistics, th ...

expressed interest in the Altay tank. Additionally, Otokar placed a bid for 77 Altays for a tender in

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

in August 2013. In January 2016, Turkey reported that the Altay had received interest from

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and Persian Gulf countries. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have shown interest in procuring the Altay for their armed forces. In March 2019, a senior Turkish politician stated an order for 100 tanks was placed by

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

and that the first 40 of these would be delivered in the coming two years.

Sales

The Altay won the Turkish army contract, estimated at $3.5B and signed on 9 November 2018 for a batch of 250 tanks. Three more similar batches are expected. Qatar has signed a contract to purchase up to 100 Turkish Altay main battle tanks.

Operators

Future operators

; *

– 250 ordered in first batch (T2 variant only) ; * Qatari Emiri Land Force – ≤100 ordered

References

External links

Otokar Official Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitup Altay Main battle tanks of Turkey Turkish inventions Post–Cold War main battle tanks

Altay Altai or Altay may refer to: Places *Altai Mountains, in Central and East Asia, a region shared by China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Russia In China *Altay Prefecture (阿勒泰地区), Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China *Altay City (阿勒� ...

Military vehicles introduced in the 2010s Post–Cold War military equipment of Turkey Fourth-generation main battle tanks