Altay ( tank ) Altay is an advanced third generation main battle tank , designed and developed by Otokar of Turkey for the Turkish Army and export markets . It is named in honor of Army General Fahrettin Altay ( 1880 – 1974 ) who commanded the 5th Cavalry Corps in the final stage of the Turkish War of Independence . History . National Tank Production Project ( Turkish : " MİTÜP - Milli Tank Üretimi Projesi " ) , an initiative developed in mid - 1990 ' s 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 4 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 : - Technical Support Enabler , Rotem - Fire Control System , Command Control Communication Information System , Laser Warning System , Driver ' s Vision System , Navigation System , IFF system subcontractor , Aselsan - 120 mm 55 caliber Primary Weapon subcontractor , state owned MKEK ( Mechanical and Chemical Industries Corporation ) , - Armour subcontractor , Roketsan Development . 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 . According to reports , a military envoy from Colombia was also present at the press meeting to obtain more information about the tank . In April 2013 , officials of the Saudi Arabian Army reportedly became interested in the Altay main battle tank . At IDEF - 2013 , the Azerbaijan Army expressed interest in the Altay tank . Design . The tank is projected to have a 120 mm smoothbore gun and will be protected against chemical , biological and radioactive attacks . The planned maximum speed is set at 94 km / h , thanks to a engine ( the first two batches will have 1 , 500 hp engines ) , and the MBTs will be able to function under 4 . 1 meters of water . The tank will benefit both from indigenously developed systems and from the armor technology of the South Korean K2 Black Panther , thanks to the agreement signed with South Korea . The candidates for the engine are German MTU Friedrichshafen and the new South Korean engine which is currently under development . The first two batches will be powered by the MTU engines whereas the last two batches will be powered by an indigenous 1 , 800 hp engine . On 16 June 2008 , SSM and industry members discussed a possible participation for the development of indigenous power pack for use in the armoured personnel carrier s and main battle tank s produced in Turkey . Altay appears to share strong chassis characteristics with its technological base , the South Korean K2 Black Panther , with a re - designed Turkish turret and Aselsan ’ s Volkan - III modular fire control system . The tank will be fielded with a STANAG 4579 compatible battlefield target identification system that ensures interoperability among small tank units . There are seven wheels , which translates to a longer hull , heavier armor and increased survivability . While moving at high speeds , to evade ATGM attacks , sudden brakings and manevuring at severe angles are the capabilities that were taken into consideration from the early stages of development . Isolated ammunition compartment is designed to save tank crew from explosions alongside fire and explosion suppression systems which will activate in case of hit or accident . The tank is equipped with sensors for the detection of air contamination sourced from chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction . Electric engine . Otokar General Manager Serdar Görgüç has announced that the company is considering the development of an electric engine for the Altay . Görgüç stated that an electric engine would reduce the ability of the enemy to identify the tank with thermal cameras in the battle field . He added that “ Vehicles with internal combustion can be caught on thermal cameras " . Otokar developed an electric engine for its buses and is working on retrofitting its design to the Altay tank . First prototype . On 29 April 2009 , the head of the Turkish Undersecretariat for Defense Industries , Murad Bayar has confirmed at the 9th IDEX International , Defense Industry Fair in Abu Dhabi , that the Turkish tank will be manufactured using only Turkish resources . He added that the research started last week and that he expected to create an authentic tank model specially designed for the needs of the Turkish Armed Forces within 3 years . As of September 2010 , with approval of the tank subsystems and software by Undersecretariat for Defense Industries , Conceptual Design Phase of the Altay project has been completed . Thus , the project advanced to Detailed Design Phase scheduled to last 30 . 5 months . The scope of the Detailed Design Phase is to design and integrate interfaces for the selected tank subsystems . On 15 October 2010 , Otokar signed contract with MTU and Renk for the supply of power pack . On 15 December 2010 , Defence Industry Executive Committee decided to start the development of national power pack . On 10 May 2011 , Aselsan was contracted by the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries to design and develop two Battlefield Target Identification Device ( BTID ) prototypes . On 11 May 2011 , the mock - up of Altay tank was introduced to the public in IDEF2011 . On 18 October 2012 , the first Altay was put on trials although lacking side skirts and using a mock - up turret to simulate a real turret . On 16 November 2012 , two Altay prototypes successfully passed initial acceptance tests , paving the way for serial production 2 years earlier than expected , two more prototypes will be built by 2013 or 2014 . The Altay completed testing from 3 July to 10 July 2013 , meeting specified requirements . As a result , the Altay is ready for mass production .