BMC unveiled an upgraded version of the Altay MBT on 22 March 2023. (BMC)
President of the Turkish Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) Haluk Görgün announced on X, formerly Twitter, on 24 February that mass production deliveries of Türkiye's new Altay main battle tank (MBT) have begun.
He said 85 Altay tanks in the T1 configuration would be delivered by 2028, following the delivery of three of the MBTs in 2025. He added that deliveries of 165 Altays in the T2 configuration would begin in 2028.
On 29 May 2024 SSB announced that Türkiye had signed a contract for the serial production of the Altay MBT and set out the scope of the project, including the establishment of a serial production line.
In his 24 February tweet, Görgün said Altay is being built in an area of approximately 1 million metre square at the BMC factory that is producing the tank, with 800 engineers, 1,250 workers, and 90 subcontractors having completed 17 million engineering hours, 2,500 hours of testing, and 30,000 km of road tests. He added that a high-technology infrastructure had been established with the Armor Open Test Area (ZATA) and Ballistic Protection Center (BKM), in addition to modern production facilities.
The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) received its first two Altay MBTs in April 2023 for testing. Altay is armed with a 120 mm L/55 smoothbore gun and 7.62 mm co-axial machine gun and can carry 40 120 mm rounds. The tanks feature a new active protection system, an improved armour system, a renewed fire-control system and vehicle control system, and other localised subsystems.
BMC unveiled the new Altay with Aselsan's Örümcek 360° situational awareness system in March 2023. The tanks delivered were powered by South Korean engines.
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