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
Our news & analysis is now part of Defence Insight®
A Basic-level or higher Defence Insight subscription is now required to view this content.
More from Land Warfare
-
![FIA 2026: MBDA launches low-cost interceptor for short-range air defence]()
FIA 2026: MBDA launches low-cost interceptor for short-range air defence
At FIA 2026, MBDA launched its Counter Mass Interceptor (CMI) which the company says is a mass-producible, low-cost effector for fire-and-forget engagements at range and altitude.
-
![Self-propelled howitzers are driving the European artillery renaissance]()
Self-propelled howitzers are driving the European artillery renaissance
After decades of force reductions as artillery was deprioritised, Europe is now undergoing an artillery renaissance as governments across the continent scramble to invest in new capabilities in response to the war in Ukraine.
-
![“Timelines are measured in seconds”: tackling the UAS threat with dispersed defences]()
“Timelines are measured in seconds”: tackling the UAS threat with dispersed defences
Small uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) have transformed the battlespace, posing a complex threat across all domains. Militaries now need counter-UAS (CUAS) capabilities that defeat the danger while meeting demands around readiness, manoeuvrability and adaptability, according to Mike Spina, Director, Global Sales and Business Development for Targeting and Sensor Systems (TSS) at L3Harris Technologies.
-
![US Army’s future autonomous launcher nears next phase with awards expected in August]()
US Army’s future autonomous launcher nears next phase with awards expected in August
The Common Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher (CAML) is the US Army’s main effort to provide an autonomous or optionally crewed missile launcher, with more details revealed at a CSIS webinar discussion this week.
-
![“No single technology is enough”: why an integrated approach to uncrewed warfare is essential]()
“No single technology is enough”: why an integrated approach to uncrewed warfare is essential
In Conversation… Ahmet Akyol, CEO of ASELSAN, talks to Shephard’s Gerrard Cowan about how the rapid evolution of uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) is transforming the battlespace, with militaries focused on both deploying these platforms to maximum effect and developing the defensive systems needed to counter them.
