Turkey’s first domestic tank sees big regional demand

ANKARA

DHA Photo

Altay, Turkey’s first domestic tank in the making, has received much interest from the country’s allies, said Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) head İsmail Demir said Jan. 7 during a presentation at parliament.“Including Pakistan and the Gulf countries, we can say that countries that we have good relations with are showing a large interest in the tank. Representatives of some countries are being invited to the ongoing firing tests,” he said, adding that the tests were extremely satisfying.“Lately, we have seen that Saudi Arabia’s interest was big,” he said.The SSM officials said at the briefing that five prototypes of the tank have been produced and succeeded in tests in different spots across Turkey.The winter tests of the tank would soon be done at the Sarıkamış district in the eastern province of Kars, known for its challenging climate conditions.Demir’s deputy, Köksal Liman, said the SSM had a sum of $6.2 billion of funding from the Defense Industry Support Fund and some $2 billion of the total was still in a bank account.Liman briefed the lawmakers on 13 other projects, including a long-range anti-tank missile, a modern infantry rifle, a domestic ship, a landing platform dock and submarine.