Erdogan says Turkey sent indigenous Altay tanks to armed forces
(MENAFN) Türkiye has officially handed over its first domestically produced Altay main battle tanks to the armed forces, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Tuesday during the inauguration of the BMC Ankara Tank and New Generation Armored Vehicles Production Facility.
The Altay, Türkiye’s first indigenously developed main battle tank, is being mass-produced by Turkish manufacturer BMC at its Ankara plant.
According to Erdogan, the tanks successfully underwent a rigorous testing phase that included 35,000 kilometers (21,750 miles) of endurance trials and 3,700 live-fire tests before being delivered to the military.
He noted that the upgraded Altay incorporates advanced systems designed to ensure resilience under the most challenging combat conditions.
The president also emphasized the scale of Türkiye’s defense production capacity, pointing out that the new facility — covering 63,000 square meters — is capable of manufacturing eight Altay tanks and ten Altug armored vehicles each month, which he described as “fortresses of the battlefield.”
“We continue to write a legend with our state-of-the-art air, land, and sea vehicles,” Erdogan said. “We are no longer just a state that follows; we are a state that is followed.”
Erdogan reaffirmed Ankara’s goal of maintaining independent production of the Altay tanks, particularly in securing critical materials, stressing that Türkiye will keep advancing despite past foreign embargoes.
He revealed that the country’s reliance on foreign suppliers in the defense sector has now fallen below 20%, with Turkish security forces meeting nearly all of their operational requirements through locally produced equipment.
The president added that Türkiye currently manages over 1,400 defense projects, ranks among the top three global producers of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and in 2024 alone accounted for 65% of the world’s UAV exports to 180 countries.
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