Turkish land vehicle manufacturer BMC has successfully integrated a South Korean engine into its Altay main battle tank.
The integration was performed after years of searching for engines to power the vehicle.
Germany and South Korea both offered to transfer technologies, but the deal with Berlin fell through because of an arms embargo imposed on Turkey.
BMC had reportedly signed an agreement with South Korean firms Doosan Infracore and S&T Dynamics to deliver the tank engine and transmission.
In March, Turkey finally received its Altay engines from Korean manufacturers. Testing for the power system has commenced since the initial delivery.
According to a report by Daily Sabah, mass production of the tank with foreign engines is expected to begin within two years.
Domestic Engine Development
While Turkey continues to import power systems for its main battle tank, BMC has also launched an initiative to develop engines within the country to make the Altay fully indigenous.
The company has successfully started a 1,500-horsepower engine called BATU, which could power various armored vehicles, including the Altay.
The domestically-developed engine is a 12-cylinder, V-type, water-cooled, turbo diesel power unit that can produce 4,600 nanometers of torque.
Daily Sabah included in its report that subsequent versions of the Altay would include a domestic engine.
The Altay
Turkey launched the Altay tank project in 2005 to improve the technical capabilities of Turkish defense and increase the country’s domestic contribution to national defense.
It has a similar chassis to South Korea’s K2 Black Panther main battle tank but with seven tracked wheels and a longer hull.
The tank is equipped with a 120mm L/55 smoothbore gun, a 7.62mm coaxial mounted machine gun to the right of the main armament, and a 12.7mm heavy machine gun mounted on the right of the turret.
The Altay reportedly features modular reactive composite armor protection to resist chemical, biological, and radiological attacks.