Turkey Completes Testing Of Domestic Altay Tank

Azerbaijan, Baku, July 22/ Trend A.Taghiyeva/



The testing of the first domestic Altay tank was carried out from June 3 to July 10 in Turkey, Sabah newspaper reported on Monday. As a result of successful testing, it was concluded that, the tank completely meets the specified requirements and is ready for mass production.



The agreement on creation of Altay tank was signed in March 2007, between the Secretariat of Defence Industry (SSM) of Turkey's Defence Ministry and Turkish Otokar company.



After the testing it is expected to receive an order for the mass production of the first batch in the amount of 250 units. The expected price of one tank will be estimated at $5.5 million and the cost of the development project at $500 million.



In recent years the Turkish defence industry is focused on development and production of its own products. Turkey managed to hit the self-sufficiency level for 54 percent in the sphere of defence industry.