28.10.2025 16:33
President Erdoğan spoke at the opening ceremony of the BMC Ankara Tank and New Generation Armored Vehicles Production Facility and the first delivery of the new Altay tanks in Kahramankazan. Speaking about the Altay tank, which has entered the inventory of the Turkish Armed Forces, Erdoğan stated, "More than 1,500 personnel will be working at this facility. In our production line, which has a closed area of 63,000 square meters, 8 Altay tanks and 10 Altuğ vehicles will be manufactured."
The Altay Tank, representing the domestic and national power of the Turkish Armed Forces, has officially entered the inventory. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the Altay Tank Delivery Ceremony held in Ankara and made important statements regarding the production process. Erdoğan stated that Turkey is "writing an epic in the defense industry" with its air, land, and naval vehicles, saying, "From now on, 8 Altay Tanks will be produced every month."
Highlights from President Erdoğan's speech are as follows:
"WE ARE EXPERIENCING A GREAT PRIDE TOGETHER"
My esteemed nation, valuable employees of our company BMC, precious representatives of our defense sector, esteemed guests, I greet you with my heartfelt feelings, respect, and affection. I thank each guest who honored our ceremony, especially Qatar's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Saud, and each of my brothers. Today, we are together on the occasion of the opening of our armored vehicle production facility and the delivery ceremony of the Altay tank to our Armed Forces.
Before moving on, I would like to extend my condolences to my brothers in Balıkesir due to the earthquake that occurred last night in the Sındırgı district of Balıkesir. Thank God, there was no loss of life in the 6.1 magnitude earthquake. 26 citizens who were injured due to secondary reasons have been discharged after necessary medical interventions. Our Minister of Interior has swiftly moved to the region with his team. We have received and are receiving the necessary information from him. Damage assessment and debris removal work for the collapsed buildings are ongoing. I pray that God protects our country from all kinds of disasters.
We are experiencing a great excitement and at the same time a great pride for the Turkish defense industry together. We see once again that our trust in our defense industry, engineers, and technicians is not in vain, both with this facility and with our Altay tank that has been delivered.
I express my gratitude to everyone who works tirelessly for the development, strengthening, and achieving the goal of full independence of our defense industry, and to all my brothers in the sector. I also pray for mercy from God for my brothers who have shed sweat for this cause and have reached martyrdom. I especially remember with mercy and gratitude the sons of the homeland who were martyred in the treacherous attack on the TUSAŞ facilities on October 24 last year.
"WE HAVE BROUGHT THE STEEL DOME TO OUR ARMY"
Dear friends, in light of the decisions taken in the Defense Industry Executive Committee, which I chair, we are progressing steadily towards the goal of a fully independent Turkey in the defense industry. While developing and implementing new projects and new defense products, we are also inaugurating our new facilities and adding our domestic and national vehicles to our inventory.
Two months ago, we had brought the Steel Dome, a system consisting of 47 vehicles, to our heroic army. Similarly, we inaugurated 14 production facilities at ASELSAN and laid the foundations of the Oğulbey Technology Base, which has an investment value of 1.5 billion dollars.
"8 ALTAI TANKS WILL BE PRODUCED EVERY MONTH"
Today, we are also inaugurating our BMC Ankara tank and new generation armored vehicle production facility. In this massive facility, which spans 840,000 square meters with research and development centers, testing areas, armored laboratories, and training tracks, more than 1,500 qualified personnel will be working, God willing. From robotic welding systems to advanced sensor technologies, from simulation infrastructure to data analytics, another comprehensive technology base will be integrated into our defense ecosystem.
In our serial production line, which has 63,000 square meters of closed area, 8 Altay tanks will be produced every month, along with 10 Altuğ vehicles, which are described as the fortress of the battlefield. As with our other defense products, our goal with the Altay tanks is to be independent, especially in critical materials. Just as we have reached this stage despite the embargoes, we will successfully navigate the upcoming process as well. I always say this. Look, I repeat once again today. The obstacles that arise on our path to our goals will only slow us down. They may delay us a bit, but they can never prevent us from reaching our destination. We will either find a way or make a way, and sooner or later we will reach the place we aim for. I believe that this modern facility, which has extraordinarily high strategic importance, will bring us one step closer to our goals.
"A NEW EQUATION IS BEING ESTABLISHED"
The ongoing military, political, and economic competition on a global scale is changing in dimension and shape every day. New vehicles, new opportunities, and new capabilities are affecting both the course of this struggle and expanding its scope. We are in a sensitive period where customs duties trigger technological disruptions and energy policies directly threaten food security. One thing is very clear. A new geopolitical equation is being established. The international system is changing not only its shell but also its medium. Serious fractures are occurring in a system dominated by powers that do not exceed the fingers of one hand.
As we have witnessed many times in recent history, neither international institutions nor international law can provide people with sufficient trust and security anymore. We are constantly confronted with the reality that it is not enough to be right; you must be strong to protect your rights in a world where you must be strong. We first saw this in Bosnia in the 1990s. Then we saw it in our neighbor Syria for 14 years. Most recently, we witnessed it in the Gaza genocide, where 70,000 innocents lost their lives.
Most of them were children and women; thousands, hundreds of thousands of our brothers were slaughtered and subjected to mass extermination. However, neither international law nor large-budget institutions could prevent these atrocities and massacres. Structures responsible for ensuring global peace and security took no action. Let alone preventing them, they protected and sheltered many bloody-handed oppressors in various regions.
It is a fact that if you want to live honorably today, you must be strong and deterrent in every field. You must strengthen your economy, reduce your dependence on others, and increase your capacity; in other words, you must cut your own umbilical cord. Otherwise, I regret to say, in this new order that has turned into a den of wolves, no one will show mercy to anyone, nor will they care about your tears.
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"WE WORKED HARD ON OUR LESSON"
Friends, at this point, I would like to express with great satisfaction that Turkey is one of the countries that realized the increase in risks and threats in an asymmetric manner the earliest. From the very first day, we made our assessments, took our precautions, and so to speak, we studied our lesson very well. In the last 23 years, with the steps we have taken, especially in defense industry, diplomacy, and security, we have made Turkey an undeniable country.
We mobilized all our diplomatic, military, political, commercial, and economic means for a just world where the oppressed do not bow to the oppressor, and the strong do not crush the weak. We rushed to the aid of our friends in their most difficult times, and we bandaged the wounds of our brothers. Wherever Turkey was needed, we tried to do our best without carrying any baggage, within the limits of our capabilities. At the same time, we started to produce our own technology to avoid being dependent on traitors. When the support of our state in the defense industry combined with the dynamism of the private sector, we have, thank God, gained great momentum in recent years.
"WE CONTINUE TO WRITE EPICS"
I want to take you back 20 or 25 years. Could we produce a safety pin in our country? A safety pin. I am not talking about weapons. No. But now, thank God, there is a Turkey that produces its own weapons. We couldn't even produce 20% in the defense industry, but now we have reached 80%. Unmanned aerial vehicles... Where? Did we have such a capability? No. But now there is a Turkey that produces unmanned aerial vehicles, armed unmanned aerial vehicles, and Akıncı.
With our state-of-the-art air, land, and naval vehicles, we continue to write epics. We are no longer just a state that is followed, but one that is being followed. From modern weapon systems to complex protection packages, from driving assistance modules to electronic warfare infrastructure, we are a country whose every move and every product is eagerly awaited. Our more than 3,500 defense industry companies in the sector, with over 100,000 qualified personnel, continue to work like bees; directly contributing to global peace, tranquility, and security.
"OUR DEPENDENCY RATE IS NOT EVEN 20%"
Our dependency rate, as I just mentioned, was over 80%, and now it is not even 20%. We are supplying almost all the needs of our security forces with our domestic and national defense vehicles and equipment. We have over 1,400 projects in the defense industry. We are among the top three countries in the world in the field of UAVs and armed UAVs.
Currently, we are the 11th largest defense exporter in the world. In 2024, we took our place in the global export market with 65%. In other words, we supplied 65 out of every 100 unmanned aerial vehicles sold worldwide. We exported products to exactly 180 countries. We anticipate that this number will increase even more in 2025. It is possible to further increase, diversify, and detail these figures.
As a country that has been subjected to unfair practices, double standards, pressures, and embargoes in the past, we have managed to make up for the lost time. We did this despite the obstruction attempts of the incompetent who could not overcome the complexes represented by the main opposition.
What did they say? They said, "You can't do it." We said, "If anyone can do it, it will be the children of this country," and we set out. We believed in our young engineers, our young brothers, the young minds of this country, and we trusted them. We did it despite those who said, "Don't undertake jobs bigger than your neck, don't get us into trouble." We achieved all this despite those who said, "What do you know about technology? Stay where you are."
"WE PROTESTED THIS ORDER"
Otherwise, we could have acted like those before us, comfortably maintaining our power in the comfortable area of the status quo without taking any risks. But we protested this order. We rebelled against this dependency relationship. With a struggle that literally had our heads on the chopping block, thank God, in just 23 years, we have built a defense ecosystem in our country that the world admires, which some follow with joy and others with concern.
Of course, I must also express this. The true value of all the investments we have made in our defense industry will hopefully be understood much better in the coming years. The projects that the opposition belittles and tries every way to discredit will be seen more clearly by the generations that come after us.
My brothers, I always say this. We never find the point we have reached sufficient. We see these Altay tanks here today. Is it sufficient? In our opinion, it is not sufficient. We need to catch much more advanced technology. This was German technology, and now we have taken it much further. Today, we continue our moves with great determination, just as we are here. With 1.5 million engineering hours and a test process covering 35,000 kilometers, we are proud to deliver the first of our Altay tanks, which have passed all stages with 3,700 actual shots, to our heroic army today.
Our Altay tank, equipped with new systems to adapt to the current combat environment at the highest level, has been developed to suit the most challenging environmental conditions. Thank God, it successfully completed tests regarding firepower, continuity, and mobility capabilities. We will carry out the deliveries we started this year with increasing numbers in the coming years. In the following parties, we will add our Altay tanks to the inventory of our army together with the BATU power group we developed with domestic and national capabilities. We will also deliver our Leopard 2A4 modernization project next year along with Altay.
With the intense interest of friendly and allied countries, Altay will make a significant contribution to the impact and visibility of the Turkish defense industry in foreign markets. I would like to emphasize this: With Altay, we are opening the doors to a new era in tank technology.
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With the experience we gained in the production and development process of Altay, we have gained significant competence in digital control systems, AI-supported decision-making structures, autonomous movement capabilities, and advanced protection systems. We hope to further develop our new products that we will introduce to the world stage by making the best use of this accumulation.
I say may God be our helper and supporter.
With these thoughts, I wish once again that our BMC Ankara Tank and New Generation Armored Vehicles Production Facility will be auspicious and blessed. I hope that our Altay tank, which we have delivered, will contribute to the strength and deterrence of our sacred homeland. I sincerely thank our company BMC, which has brought these works to our army and nation, our Presidency of Defense Industries, every brother who contributed to the construction of the facility, and especially our project partner Qatar.
"IT WILL INCREASE OUR COMBAT POWER"
Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler stated that thanks to the effectiveness and power of the defense industry, Turkey is a role model in its region and in the world.
Stating that Turkey is being watched with envy by the world, Minister Güler said, "Altay will increase our combat power."
ALTAY TANK FEATURES
Under the weapon systems of Turkey's national main battle tank Altay, which will have its first deliveries to the Turkish Armed Forces, is the signature of MKE, one of Turkey's most established defense industry companies.
The 120 millimeter 55 caliber main weapon system of the Altay Tank, developed considering all the needs of the modern battlefield, was produced by MKE. The system has a total length of 7 meters and 118 centimeters and weighs 3 tons.
The "main weapon system," which can also use NATO-standard ammunition and has an effective range of 3,000 meters, is made of special alloy steel. The main weapon system can also fire 6 rounds per minute.
The auxiliary weapon system integrated into the Altay, the "PMT 76/57T" machine gun, also bears the signature of MKE engineers. Named "57T" in honor of the 57th Regiment, which wrote a legend in Çanakkale, this weapon system stands out with its high accuracy and superior capabilities. The machine gun, which weighs approximately 12 kilograms, can fire 950 rounds per minute.
The Altay Tank has a capacity to carry 40 rounds of ammunition. MKE also contributed to ALTAY in terms of ammunition. In this context, the targets determined on the battlefield will be hit with 120 millimeter tank ammunition produced by MKE.
As part of the Altay Tank Project, various amounts of "main weapon system" and "auxiliary weapon system" deliveries have been made to the contractor company BMC by MKE so far.
Not only the production and delivery of high-tech weapon systems to be integrated into the tanks but also the technical support processes are carried out by MKE.
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