Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah reported 12 March that Turkey and Qatar have signed an agreement for the purchase of Turkey’s first domestically produced main battle tank (MBT), the Altay.
Vice Chairman of the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Ali İhsan Yavuz said that the agreement will see Qatar buy up to 100 tanks from Turkey with 40 of them delivered to the Gulf country in the first phase.
The Altay is classed as a “third-generation advanced” tank and will be equipped with state of the art technology, advanced armour, and will feature a 120 mm 55-calibre smoothbore gun as its main weapon.
Daily Sabah reported last November that the Turkish government had signed an agreement with Turkish armoured vehicle manufacturer BMC for the mass production of the Altay MBT, more than two decades after the program was officially launched. Other Turkish defence companies involved in the production of the Altay include Roketsan, Aselsan, Havelsan and the Machinery and Chemical Industry Institute (MKEK).
