Turkish defense heralds new Altay tanks

By News Center

Not many people remember that Turkiye built the MKE K?r?kkale 1943 tank 80 years ago, in an environment where the Second World War was still going on. It is not well known that that tank, where only the engine came from outside and critical components such as armor plate, gun, track, and drivetrain were produced entirely with domestic means, made a parade in 1946 at the Republic Day ceremony.

Unfortunately, like many critical steps that Turkiye took at that time, tank attempts were left unfinished. After the help of the USA, reluctance prevailed, and MKE K?r?kkale 1943 was left alone because MKE did not receive an order. Then the team disbanded, and the factory was closed.

Altay tank: the embodiment of embargoes

When we met with the head of Defense Industry Agency (SSB) Prof. Dr ?smail Demir at the delivery ceremony of the new generation Altay tank to the Turkish Armed Forces, we had in mind what happened in the 1940s. As a matter of fact, even if not exactly the same, there was a very painful process for the Altay tank, and this giant platform was perhaps one of Turkiye's most long-term projects.

According to the news by Sertaç Aksan in TRT News, after the Altay tanks exhibited some of their capabilities on the test track, SSB President Demir, one of the architects of the project, made important statements.

Demir gave a clear answer to our question, "Why did it take so long?" and said, "The Altay tank is the embodiment of the embargoes against Turkiye."

Things turned upside down in the mass production phase

Reminding that everything was smooth at the prototype stage, Prof. Dr. Demir pointed out that serious problems started to be experienced with the transition to the mass production phase. He reminded us that the absence of export permits at some critical points, especially the power package, also coincided with this period.

Explaining that Turkiye has moved to a new road map at this stage and that it has gone out to tender in order to create its own power group with domestic/national resources, ?smail Demir said that this time the companies that signed for joint work had to withdraw due to the pressures of the governments in their own countries.

“The opposing companies withdrew at the expense of paying compensation. In fact, if the promises were kept at that time, the issue of delivering the tank would have become reality after 18 months,” Demir summarized the process.

Work continues on the domestic engine has been mounted tank

Engine, transmission, and cooling systems are generally handled together in tanks and this is called a power group. One of the most curious subjects about the Altay tank is the domestic power group. It is known that both tanks delivered to the Turkish Armed Forces for tests have a power group from South Korea.

In this context, we ask about the latest situation in the domestic power group BATU, whose work continues by BMC Power. Dr. To ?smail Demir.

Demir reiterates that BATU's tests are still continuing and "BATU doesn't just work in the test room. This system is already working in a test tank. We will announce the news that our tank is running with the domestic power pack," and gives the good news that new developments are on the way for the new generation Altay tank in the coming period.