New generation battle tank to join Turkish army inventory

ANKARA

The Turkish Armed Forces will officially receive the first mass-produced “Altay” main battle tank on Oct. 28, marking a major step in the country’s push for a fully indigenous armored force.

Named after Fahrettin Altay Pasha, commander of the 5th Cavalry Corps that entered İzmir during the Turkish War of Independence, the new tank represents the backbone of Türkiye’s next-generation armored fleet.

Its handover ceremony, set to be attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, will also mark the official opening of an armored vehicle production facility of BMC, one of Türkiye's largest military vehicle manufacturers, in Ankara’s Kahramankazan district.

Developed by Turkish engineers, the project has reached the mass production phase, where the new BMC production campus spans 840,000 square meters within the aviation specialized industrial zone.

The massive BMC campus includes testing grounds and facilities for producing various tracked and wheeled armored vehicles. The facility also houses BMC Power, which manufactures the tank’s engines.

Under the production plan, three “Altay" tanks will be delivered to the Land Forces Command by the end of 2025.

A total of 11 tanks are scheduled for 2026, 41 for 2027 and 30 for 2028, all in the T1 configuration, bringing the total to 85 tanks.

From 2028 onward, the T2 variant featuring the domestically designed “Batu” engine will enter production, with 165 units expected.

In total, 250 tanks are planned to join the Turkish army within five years.