Turkish Altay tank program accelerates toward 2025 milestone
After several years of delays, the Turkish Altay tank development programme is gaining momentum. The first deliveries to the Turkish army, which already boasts the largest number of tanks among European NATO members, will begin in the third quarter of 2025. Ultimately, Turkey aims to produce up to 1,000 Altay tanks.
The path chosen by the Turkish authorities differs from that taken by many other NATO countries. For example, Poland and Romania decided on large purchases of Abrams and South Korean K2 Black Panther tanks, while the Netherlands and the Czech Republic opted for Leopard 2A8s.
Turkey bets on domestic tanks
Currently, the Turkish army operates about 2,500 tanks, making it the largest armoured power in Europe. A problem identified by Ankara a few years ago (the Altay programme was initiated in 2007) is the fact that this involves a very large "armoured mosaic," consisting of American M48, M60 Patton, and (modified in Israel) M60 Sabra, as well as German Leopard 1 and Leopard 2A4 in several variants. All of these are also quite old in design, and their time in the Turkish army's service is fading away.
Earlier this year, Turkish media reported that within a few, maximum several months, the local army would begin operating the first Altay tanks. According to the latest information, this will happen in August.
Altay T1 will lead the way
Initially, the Altay T1 will be produced. In designing it, the Turkish industry decided to draw on the experiences of the South Korean Hyundai Rotem corporation. Therefore, the Altay T1 will feature several solutions known from the K2 Black Panther tanks, including the DV27K engine and EST15K transmission. Its main armament will be a Turkish-produced variant of the South Korean CN08 120 mm gun.
According to previously published schedules, just under 100 Altay T1 units will be produced by 2028. Subsequently, Altay T2 (about 200 units) will start rolling off the production lines, followed by Altay T3 (which will be the most numerous).
In total, Turkey plans to produce up to 1,000 Altay tanks. They also expect that for the Altay T2 and Altay T3, they will rely solely on components manufactured in Turkish plants. Each subsequent version of the tank is expected to bring improvements to the most critical components.
