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Serial production of Türkiye's indigenous Altay Main Battle Tank (MBT) has begun at BMC's newly operational production facility in Ankara, with the first delivery scheduled during the facility's official opening ceremony, company officials announced.
The state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) exclusively filmed the production base on Friday, where steel enters and transforms into Altay tanks, marking the first media access to production operations at the Ankara Aerospace and Aviation Specialized Organized Industrial Zone (OIZ).
BMC Chairman Fuat Tosyali expressed pride in achieving what he called Türkiye's 100-year-old dream.
"We are experiencing the happiness of realizing our country's 100-year-old dream," he noted.
"We have started serial production of our Altay tank. There will be a big ceremony. We will hold it whenever it is suitable according to the schedules of our high-level officials," Tosyali said.
The modern production facility, which BMC constructed, is equipped with advanced manufacturing technologies and was commissioned in a short time. It will house both BMC Defense for Altay tank serial production and BMC Power for developing and producing the indigenous BATU power group.
The facility employs domestically produced industrial robots and utilizes next-generation production technologies, with intensive work ongoing from hull production to the final assembly line.
"Last year, we started producing domestic military engines at BMC Power," Tosyali stated.
"We had begun producing engines generating 400-1500 horsepower needed by our land and naval vehicles. Now, our tank factory, whose foundation we laid last Ramadan, has thankfully started serial production," he added.
Tosyali also confirmed that tanks delivered for testing last year have passed all capability demonstrations with great success.
"Our tanks delivered for testing last year displayed all their capabilities and passed with great success. Our factory is also finished. We will produce our tanks in our factory and deliver them to our forces," he said.
Regarding the BATU Power Group being developed for the tank, Tosyali explained the testing process is proceeding according to schedule.
"For our power group to be used in our tanks, it needs to complete certain processes. Road tests need to be conducted, it needs to run 10,000 kilometers. It needs to pass certain performance tests. So far, there are no problems in our power group's program. All elements, including air defense systems, are being tested together with the tank. We're talking about a device that incorporates the world's most advanced technologies," Tosyali explained.
Tosyali later emphasized the crucial support from the President and the Defense Industry President Haluk Gorgun throughout the project.
"We communicate very intensively almost every day. Because as I said, a very big dream has now become reality. Our President has followed every stage of the investment almost moment by moment and provided us with great support," he said.
The Ankara production base will serve as the backbone of Türkiye's land defense industry, according to Tosyali.
"This complex, with its social facilities and the industrial cluster we have created around it, will now constitute the backbone of our land defense industry," he stated.
BMC will produce not only the Altay tank but also the 8X8 ALTUG new generation armored combat vehicle at the facility, with orders already in hand.
Tosyali characterized the Ankara production base as "a national responsibility, a national excitement."
"Tank investment is a very long-term struggle. If our President had not shown his will in this matter, this work would not have emerged. Throughout the journey, from the first design of this project to today, many disruptions and provocations were encountered," he explained.
After taking over the majority stake in BMC approximately three years ago, the company approached the project with a different perspective, planning for production "in the right place, in the right way," Tosyali said.
"We acquired our land in HAB, the heart of the defense ecosystem in Ankara. We designed and completed this tank and new generation vehicles production facility where the world's most advanced technologies can be applied very quickly," he concluded.
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