Türkiye has reached a significant milestone in its defense modernization journey with the official start of mass production for the ALTAY Main Battle Tank. Following the inauguration of the ALTAY Mass Production Facility and the first tank delivery ceremony, President of Defence Industries Haluk Görgün and BMC Chairman Fuat Tosyalı shared key insights regarding the country’s expanding capabilities in armored vehicle production.

Haluk Görgün emphasized that the development goes far beyond the delivery of a new main battle tank. With the activation of this new, high-tech production facility, Türkiye now possesses one of the most advanced armored vehicle manufacturing infrastructures in the world. “With this capability, we will be able to rapidly meet not only the needs of our own armed forces but also those of friendly and allied nations,” Görgün stated.

He highlighted Türkiye’s established leadership in the global armored vehicle market, having exported more than 5,000 vehicles to over 40 countries. ALTAY’s serial production marks a new stage in this success, supported by a national technology ecosystem involving more than 90 technology providers. Görgün noted that the network-enabled command-and-control software developed for ALTAY is a capability that only a handful of nations possess.

The facility’s production capacity is set to increase steadily, with the ability to manufacture 96 tanks and 120 armored vehicles (8x8 and 6x6 configurations) annually. Initial T1 tanks will be powered by engines sourced from South Korea—85 units in total. However, the next phase, the T2 configuration, will feature the fully indigenous 1500 hp BATU engine and transmission system developed by BMC Power. This transition represents a strategic leap toward complete autonomy in power group technologies.

BMC Chairman Fuat Tosyalı emphasized that Türkiye is now among the 12 countries capable of producing their own main battle tank. He described the ALTAY Mass Production Facility as one of the most advanced of its kind globally. Tosyalı also underscored the significance of domestic production: “When you produce such a system abroad, it stays the same for years. But with a fully domestic system, we can continuously update and upgrade the tank based on real battlefield feedback. We are not just users—we are now the pioneers of this technology.”

With ALTAY entering mass production and local industrial capabilities growing rapidly, Türkiye is strengthening its position as a global player in armored vehicle technology. The ability to produce, maintain, modernize, and evolve a national main battle tank places Türkiye among an elite group of defense manufacturers worldwide.