Throughout the 20th century, Turkey bought tanks abroad: in the USSR (T-26 in 1935), in France (Renault FT-17 and R35) in Great Britain (Vickers Garden Loyd and Garden Loyd M1931, Vickers 6ton Mk E and 13 Vickers Mk VIb), in Nazi Germany (PzKpfw III and IVG), in Germany (Leopard I and II), in Israel (М60Т Sabra) and in the USA (M60). Over time, the Turkish engineering industry even managed to master the basics of modernizing tanks - this is how the Leopards and M60 were brought to a satisfactory state. By the beginning of the 21st century, the Turkish establishment came to the conclusion that it was necessary to create their own tank, especially since there are many advantages from such a step. First, your own tank turns out to be cheaper than the organization of licensed production offered by Leopard, Leclerc, T-84-120 "Yatagan" and other similar equipment. Secondly, Turkey's independent policy could naturally cause the displeasure of some of the NATO countries supplying armored vehicles and components with a subsequent embargo. This is exactly what happened after the suppression of an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the government in Turkey. Third, a country claiming leading roles in the region must have its own competencies in the development of defense technology. And finally, fourthly, the future tank may well become a lucrative export commodity, because Turkey has been successfully trading weapons for a long time.
The first money was allocated in March 2007, when, in the presence of Prime Minister Erdogan, a $ 400 million contract was signed with Otokar Otomotiv ve Savunma Sanayi. According to the assurances of the Otokar management, by the beginning of 2017, about $ 1 billion from the company's own funds were spent on the development of the tank. From the very beginning, the Turks did not plan to cope with the task on their own and invited the South Korean Hyundai Rotem, known primarily for the K2 Black Panther tank, for technical support. It is reported that, along with Rotem, Turkish gunsmiths considered the German KMW, but the requirement to completely transfer the Leopard 2 technology was rejected by the Germans. And the Koreans were persuaded to share the secrets of K2. Otokar is also quite famous in the arms circles: the Cobra light armored car, which Georgia fielded against South Ossetia in 2008, is her handiwork.
First prototypes of Altay at the Adapazarı military base. November 5, 2012. Source: andrei-bt.livejournal.com
In accordance with Western fashion, the future MBT was named after the hero of Turkey, General Fahrettin Altai, who liberated the third largest city of Izmir from Greek troops in 1919-1923. In August 2010, a 3D model of the future vehicle was presented to the public, and at IDEF-2011 in Istanbul, a full-size model of the tank flaunted. The engineers of the Turkish-Korean team worked in forced mode, and already on November 5, 2012, at the Adapazarı military base, they showed two experienced Altay in metal. The MTR sample was for sea trials, and the tank's firepower was examined on the FTR sample. In fact, the Turkish vehicle is a deeply modernized (and simplified) Korean K2 - up to 60% of the technologies were directly borrowed from the Black Panther. Including the cost exceeding $ 5, 5 million.
Like the Koreans, Turkish engineers did not come up with anything fundamentally new: the layout is classic, with an engine compartment in the stern, controls in the bow and a fighting compartment in the center. The suspension is supposed to be hydropneumatic, which will allow the tank to defiantly roll over on tracks at the shows, as its colleague K2 can do. The driver sits exactly in the center and monitors through three prismatic devices in the sliding hatch. It was decided to abandon the automatic loader, implemented in K2, so in the Altay turret it was necessary to look for a place for the loader, who was placed to the left of the cannon. To the right of the gun, in front of the commander, a gunner was placed - these two crew members share one hatch that opens back. The turret of the tank is perhaps one of the few completely independent developments of Turkish engineers, which differs from the Korean prototype in more serious armor. Its structure is welded, with a developed zaman in the stern, in which part of the ammunition (with knockout panels), air conditioning and an auxiliary power unit were located.
First prototypes of Altay at the Adapazarı military base. November 5, 2012. Source: andrei-bt.livejournal.com
The gun was taken from fellow NATO Germans - this is the Rheinmetall Rh 120L / 55 with all the "bells and whistles": barrel bending control, thermal protective casing and ejection system. They plan to equip Altay 57 with unitary shots - cumulative fragmentation, subcaliber feathered and fragmentation shrapnel. The dependence on German industry does not quite suit the Turkish military command, and for several years the company Makin eve Kimya Endustrisi Kurumu has been working on the MKEK 120 cannon. managed module. The Volkan III or National Canon fire control system developed by Aselsan was taken from the Navy (TASK platform), it includes an aiming and observation complex for the commander and gunner with two stabilized channels - day and night. And, of course, a gentleman's set of a modern tank - a laser rangefinder and a thermal imager. The commander, as expected, has the most impressive 360-degree view0 with the ability to observe regardless of the position of the tower. The tank is able to register laser irradiation, defend against weapons of mass destruction, set up smoke interference (seven smoke grenade launchers in the rear of the turret) and extinguish fires on its own. The Turks did not spare money for booking - they use composite armor, possibly there will be dynamic protection, as well as side screens with expensive ceramic plates. The Turkish company Roketsan supervises the earnings of the armor. At the moment, the question of equipping Altay with active protection complexes remains open.
The Turkish defense industry's difficulties begin at the mention of the power plant of the tank - the engineers do not have their own design. It was supposed to install a German turbodiesel MTU Friedrichshafen with a capacity of 1,500 hp, but Germany already in 2016 indicated that, after the suppression of the revolution in Turkey, there could be problems with supplies. And the transmission of the tank is also imported - German Renk. The Austrian version of the power plant from AVL List GmbH and its licensed production in Turkey were also ordered to live a long time after the EU sanctions. The joint Austrian-Turkish development was supervised by the Tumosan company, which since 1975 has been specializing in the production of tractor 3- and 4-cylinder diesel engines with a capacity of no more than 115 hp. with. There were attempts to negotiate with the Japanese, but Mitsubishi Heavy Industries refused to take part in the design of the Turkish tank engine. As a result, the contract for the development of the power plant and transmission was given to the Turkish-Qatari Navy in February 2018. The company is close to Erdogan's court, as it is under the control of Edham Sandzak, a close friend of the ruler of Turkey. They plan to create a motor with a capacity of 1800 liters. with. with minimal involvement of imported components. This should give the 60-ton car an acceptable dynamics within the maximum 70 km / h. It is the question of the power plant and transmission that is the main one, which is why, with such a delay, by the middle of 2018 Altay is on the stocks of BMC enterprises. Obviously, the vehicles will be equipped with power plants supplied to Turkey before the introduction of EU sanctions. It is noteworthy that the Turkish government denied the development company Otokar a contract for the production of Altay. This is, perhaps, the first time in the history of tank building, when one company is developing a vehicle, and a completely different one is engaged in production. Apparently, Otokar is on very bad terms with the Turkish leadership. The Navy plans to assemble 250 vehicles in the first stage, and the total number of tanks in the Turkish army by the mid-2020s should be no more than 1,000.
Altay AHT (Asimetrik Harp Tanki - tank of asymmetric warfare) at IDEF-2017. Source: i-korotchenko.livejournal.com
Having not yet started production, Altay has already acquired a modification of the AHT (Asimetrik Harp Tanki, an asymmetric war tank), which the developer Otokar presented at IDEF-2017. The vehicle was a response to the results of Operation Euphrates Shield, during which Turkish armored units suffered significant losses from Kurdish semi-guerrilla formations. Altay AHT is equipped with anti-cumulative screens, dynamic protection from an unknown developer and an additionally reinforced bottom. The commander received a retractable "periscope" Yamgoz with a thermal imager, which allows him to monitor the battlefield from cover. In the latest fashion, Altay was equipped with a bulldozer blade for clearing debris, a system for suppressing radio-controlled landmines and even an acoustic system for detecting the operation of small arms, which is automatically guided by a 12.7-mm machine gun. At the moment, it is not known which of all this will be implemented in the serial tank, since this is an initiative development of Otokar. At the same IDEF-2017 exhibition, a traditional version was shown, dressed up in a camouflage cape set.
Altay in a camouflage cape at IDEF-2017. Source: i-korotchenko.livejournal.com
What can you expect from the Turkish "tank of the future"? According to experts, having already been born, Altay is outdated: neither the gun, nor the protection systems, nor the power plant meet modern and future requirements for armored vehicles. The level of the Turkish car is approximately equal to the T-90 of the early 2000s. However, as soon as the problem with the power plants is solved, Altay will gradually replace the Leopard and M60 series in the Turkish armored forces and, quite possibly, will be exported. Potential bidders for the purchase include Azerbaijan, Pakistan and the Persian Gulf countries. It remains only to conduct a small victorious war to prove the full power of Erdogan's armored fist.
