Altay (tank)

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Altay is Turkey’s fourth‑generation main battle tank. Designed by Otokar and produced by BMC with design help from Hyundai Rotem, it’s named after Army General Fahrettin Altay. The project is part of Turkey’s national effort to build and maintain a domestic tank capability.

Altay is based on the South Korean K2 Black Panther. It uses a 120 mm MKE CN08 smoothbore gun, a Roketsan composite armor package with KSAP protection, and Aselsan electronics including the AKKOR active protection system and a modular fire control system. It also features a remote‑controlled weapon station and other modern combat systems.

Key specifications include a weight around 65 tonnes, a crew of four, and dimensions of about 7.3 m in the hull and 10.3 m with the gun forward. It measures roughly 3.9 m wide and 2.6 m tall. Its mobility tops out at about 65 km/h on roads and 45 km/h off road, with a range of about 450 km.

For power, the early production batch used a 1,500 hp Korean DV27K engine paired with an EST15K transmission. Later batches are planned to use a domestically produced BATU V12 engine with a cross‑drive transmission. This reflects the project’s goal to shift from imported to Turkish powertrains over time.

Development began in the late 2000s, with initial Otokar prototypes hitting the scene by 2016. Mass production officially started on September 5, 2025, and a purpose‑built factory opened on October 28, 2025. A small number of Altay tanks have been built and delivered for testing and evaluation as Türkiye continues to expand its domestic tank program. Altay is officially in service with the Turkish Land Forces from 2025 onward.