Turkey’s defence industry entered a new era with the Opening Ceremony of the BMC Tank and New Generation Armoured Vehicles Production Facility in Kahramankazan and the Delivery Ceremony of the First New ALTAY Tanks, attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. At the ceremony, which was also attended by Sheikh Saud, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Qatar, it was stated that the facility, which covers an area of 840 thousand square metres, will be staffed by more than 1500 qualified personnel. This technology base will be integrated into the Turkish defence ecosystem with a comprehensive infrastructure including robotic welding, advanced sensor technologies and data analytics.
Mass Production Capacity and Full Independence Despite Embargoes
President Erdoğan announced that eight ALTAY tanks and 10 ALTUĞ Armoured Combat Vehicles (ACVs) will be manufactured every month in the serial production line, which has a closed area of 63 thousand square metres. “Just as we have reached today’s stage despite the embargoes, we will hopefully carry out the next process successfully,” Erdoğan said, reiterating the goal of not depending on anyone, especially in critical materials. The annual ALTAY tank production capacity of the facility was determined as 96 units.
New ALTAY AMT: Adaptable to Challenging Conditions and Advanced Technology
after1.5 million engineering hours, 35 thousand kilometres of testing and 3,700 actual shots, the first ALTAY tank was delivered to the Turkish Armed Forces on Tuesday 28 October 2025. President Erdoğan emphasised that the tank was equipped with new systems to adapt to the current combat environment at the highest level. Stating that the tank, which was originally German technology, has been carried further, Erdoğan stated that ALTAY tanks integrated with the BATU power group developed with domestic and national facilities will join the inventory in the following batches. It was also announced that the delivery of the Leopard 2A4 modernisation project will take place next year.
Great Interest in Overseas Markets and Future Vision
Fuat Tosyalı, Chairman of the Board of Directors of BMC, stated that the BMC Ankara facility ranks among the top three in Europe and the top five in the world in terms of production capacity and technology intensity. Tosyalı emphasised that all subsystems for which an export licence could not be obtained were indigenised, and that the new ALTAY is a tank that is completely different from the prototype of 10 years ago, and that meets the needs of the battlefield.
President Erdoğan stated that the intense interest of friendly and allied countries will make a significant contribution to the impact and visibility of the Turkish defence industry. He said that all the competencies gained, from digital control systems to artificial intelligence-supported decision-making structures, from autonomous movement capabilities to advanced protection systems, will form the basis for the development of new products in the future. Haluk Görgün, President of Defence Industries, said that this facility is a “factory of the future” that will shape not only the tanks and armoured vehicles of today, but also those of the future.
