The Turkish National Main Battle Tank Project began in 2005. In September 2010 the conceptual design phase of Altay was completed.
The tank is currently in the detailed design phase which is planned to take about 30 months. The first prototype is expected to be ready by 2015.
Turkey intends to build 250 MITÜP Altay MBTs initially, and ultimately produce 1,000 new tanks in four separate lots of 250 units. Altay will incorporate the most modern features of a tank. The Turkish MBT will have a crew of four – driver, gunner, loader and the commander.
Development
National Tank Production Project (Turkish: MİTÜP – Milli Tank Üretimi Projesi), an initiative developed in mid-1990s to establish independent and robust infrastructure for the production, development and maintenance of main battle tanks used by Turkish Armed Forces. The project was initiated with an agreement signed between Otokar and Undersecretariat for Defense Industries of the Republic of Turkey on 30 March 2007, when the Defense Industries Executive Committee awarded a contract worth approximately $500 million to Otokar for the design, development and production of four prototypes of a national main battle tank. This is Turkey's first MBT development program since 1943, when prototypes of a Turkish national tank were produced in Kırıkkale, but never reached full-scale mass production.
In order to improve the current technical capabilities of the Turkish defense industries and increase the amount of domestic contribution towards national defense, the Undersecreteriat for Defense Industries decided that a "National Tank" will serve as an excellent catalyst for uniting certain Turkish defense companies around a common goal and for providing the Turkish military with extra firepower in the form of a modern tank.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense allocated a budget of $1 billion for the development of the Altay.
The military electronics company Aselsan manufactures and integrates Volkan III modular fire control system, command, control and information systems while state-owned MKEK (Mechanical and Chemical Industries Corporation) agreed for the production and integration of a modified and licensed produced Rheinmetall 120 mm gun. Another state company Roketsan designs an indigenous armor.
Once the prototypes are produced and tested, the Undersecreteriat for Defense Industries of the Republic of Turkey will prepare and execute a separate order for the first lot of 250 tanks. A total of 1000 MBTs are planned to be produced in four separate lots of 250 units. Every delivered lot is expected to have additional upgrades.
First 3D picture of Turkey’s new main battle tank, Altay, was released to public on 7 April 2010 during a press release by SSM.
The tank will have a conventional layout. The power pack will be in the rear, driver seating in the front and fighting compartment in the middle. The loader will be on the left side of the turret, while the commander will sit on the right side of the turret. The gunner will sit on the same side as the commander but in a more forward and lower position.
Altay will have the stronger chassis characteristics of the K2 Black Panther MBT. It will have a re-designed Turkish turret and heavier armour than the K2. It will also have seven tracked wheels and a longer hull. A decision on the suspension system and other systems has yet to be finalised.
Altay tank is equipped with modular composite armours in order to protect the tank against all kinds of threats. The Turkish Company Roketsan was assigned to develop the Modular Armour Package by technology transfer also through Hyundai Rotem. Roketsan has the responsibility of design and development of Altay Turkish main battle tank Armor System. Roketsan has established a completely new ballistic protection infrastructure which has up-to-date design, production and test technologies brought together for light and heavy armoured vehicle protection solutions.
The tank will use an advanced computerised Volkan-III modular (or National Cannon Fire Control System For Naval Platforms (TAKS)) fire-control system (FCS). It is being developed by Aselsan, which has partnered with STM, the software division of SSM, for developing the command, control and information systems.
Armament
Altay will be equipped with a 120mm L/55 smoothbore gun manufacture by The Turkish Company MKE by technology transfer from Hyundai Rotem of South Korea. It will be fitted with a muzzle reference system, a thermal sleeve and fume extractor. The ammunition will be stowed in the turret bustle with blow out panels on the roof. The tank will also have a 7.62mm machine gun mounted in coaxial to the right of the main armament. A 12.7mm heavy machine gun will be mounted on the right of the turret for commander operation. A range of eight smoke grenade dischargers are mounted to each rear top side of the turret.
The first two batches of Altay tanks will be powered by MTU Friedrichshafen 1,500hp (1,100kW) diesel engines. The engine will be coupled to a Renk transmission. An indigenous 1,800hp (1,300kW) engine is currently under development in Turkey and will be used in the last two batches of the tank. The tank will have a maximum speed of 70km/h and manoeuvrability at depths of 4.1m in water.
Specifications
Weight
65 tonnes (72 short tons; 64 long tons)
Length
7.3 metres (24 ft) (hull), 10.3 metres (34 ft) (gun forward)
Width
3.9 metres (13 ft)
Height
2.6 metres (8.5 ft)
Crew
4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
Armor
Roketsan composite armour
Main armament
Aselsan/STM Volkan III assisted MKEK 120 mm 55 caliber smoothbore gun
Secondary armament
1 × Aselsan STAMP/II stabilized remote controlled turret
1 × 12.7 mm heavy machine gun
Engine
Multi-fuel 1,500 hp (MTU) or 1,800 hp (local design)
Suspension
Hydropneumatic
Operational range
500 kilometres (310 mi)
Speed
70 km/h (43 mph) max.
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