Turkish Army receives New Altay tank prototypes for testing
In the build-up to elections later this year, President Erdogan stressed Turkiye's ability to meet the country's ground combat vehicle needs with locally developed products, (Photo: Turkish Presidency)
The Turkish Army has accepted two prototypes of the New Altay main battle tank (MBT) for testing, with officials highlighting its incorporation of digital technologies and new-generation active and passive protection systems.
On April 23 Turkish company BMC staged a ceremony in Arifiye, Sakarya, to hand over two New Altay MBT prototypes to the Turkish Army, attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and senior military commanders.
The MBTs will be tested by the army for two years. If they successfully complete testing, mass production will start at company’s new facilities in Ankara. BMC aims to produce eight tanks per month.
Speaking at the ceremony, Erdogan underlined Turkish defence industry capabilities in producing land warfare systems: ‘We have managed to meet almost all of our land vehicle needs with domestic and national capabilities. Not
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