Altay (tank)

Altay MBT
Altay tanks during tests
Type	Main battle tank
Place of origin	Turkey
Service history
In service	Officially declared in 2015. 2018 (date to enter full service).
Used by	Turkish Army
Production history
Designer	Otokar (main contractor) Aselsan (sub-systems and fire control system) MKEK (main gun system) Roketsan (armour package) Hyundai Rotem (technical support and assistance)
Designed	2008–2016
Manufacturer	1st Army Maintenance Center Command
Unit cost	USD $13.75 million
No. built	4 prototypes being tested. A total of 1,000 MBTs are planned to be produced in four separate lots of 250 units
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	Mkek120 mm 55 caliber smoothbore gun
Secondary armament	1 × Aselsan STAMP/II stabilized remote controlled turret 1 × 12.7 mm coaxial 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.

The Altay is a modern main battle tank, designed and developed by Otokar, a subsidiary of Koç Holding, for the Turkish Army and export markets. It is named in honor of Army General Fahrettin Altay who commanded the 5th Cavalry Corps in the final stage of the Turkish War of Independence.

National Tank Production Project (Turkish: MİTÜP – Milli Tank Üretimi Projesi) was an initiative developed in the 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.

Otokar, a company owned by Istanbul-based Koç Holding, is one of the major automotive manufacturers in Turkey. Otokar has produced more than 25,000 military vehicles as of 2008.

Subsequently, in accordance with the later Defense Industries Executive Committee ruling, subcontractors were selected as follows:

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.