BMC quickly built, equipped with modern production technologies, and commissioned the BMC Defense facilities, where mass production of the ALTAY Tank will be carried out, and the BMC Power facilities, where the tank’s domestic power unit BATU will be manufactured. Intense work is being carried out at the facility from hull production to the final assembly line; domestically produced industrial robots and next-generation production technologies are used in all production processes.
BMC Chairman of the Board Fuat Tosyalı guided the AA team through the production lines and provided information about the ongoing work. Tosyalı said they were experiencing the happiness of realizing Türkiye’s 100-year dream, stating: “We have started mass production of the ALTAY Tank. Soon, we will have our official opening ceremony. In our facility, we will produce our tanks and deliver them to our forces and friendly countries.”
Reminding that domestic military engine production had started at BMC Power in the previous year, Tosyalı said: “We had started producing engines generating between 400–1500 horsepower needed for our land and naval vehicles. Now, the tank factory, whose foundation we laid last year during Ramadan, has thankfully entered mass production. Today, we toured and saw it. Hopefully, very soon after the official opening ceremony, we will continue our production.”
Tosyalı stated that the BATU Power Unit to be used in the ALTAY Tank successfully completed its tests, that there were no setbacks in the program, and that all elements of the tank, including air defense systems, had undergone comprehensive testing. He noted that the power unit successfully passed road tests, a 10,000-kilometer endurance run, and performance criteria, saying: “We are already talking about a device that incorporates the most advanced technologies in the world.”
Describing the Ankara production base as “a national responsibility, a national excitement,” Tosyalı noted that, in addition to the ALTAY, the new generation 8X8 ALTUĞ armored combat vehicles would also be produced at the facilities. He emphasized that with the industrial cluster formed around the production facility, the backbone of Türkiye’s land defense industry would be established. “Tank investment is a long-term struggle. If our President had not put forward his will in this matter, this achievement would not have emerged. Along the way, the project faced many setbacks and provocations, from design until today. After acquiring the majority share in BMC nearly three years ago, we approached the project with a very different perspective, and now we will carry out production in the right place and in the right way,” he said.
Showing the production lines of BMC, Tosyalı highlighted the support given by Presidency of Defense Industries President Haluk Görgün to the process, noting that the factory would be officially opened in a short time and deliveries of tanks to the armed forces would begin.
Source: AA
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