South Korean defense firm Samyang Comtech has secured its first direct overseas export contract, supplying advanced ballistic armor for Turkey’s Altay main battle tank.
According to Seoul Economic Daily, South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration recently approved the export of Samyang Comtech’s specialized ceramic armor to Turkey.
The contract represents the first time Samyang has directly supplied protection systems for a foreign-developed tank, rather than exporting through domestic primes.
The Altay tank, developed by Turkey with technology based in part on South Korea’s K2 Black Panther, is scheduled to enter serial production later this year.
The Turkish Army plans to field an initial 250 tanks, with long-term goals to deploy up to 1,000 units. The decision to partner with Samyang Comtech was reportedly driven by the firm’s in-house materials research and large-scale ceramic armor manufacturing capabilities.
Samyang Comtech has been the exclusive armor supplier for Hyundai Rotem’s K2 since 2009. While it previously exported armor indirectly through the K2’s export to Poland in 2022, the Altay contract is its first direct international deal for a foreign main battle tank project.
Company CEO Kim Jong-il stated, “We operate independent materials and technology research centers, and maintain the world’s largest mass-production system for ballistic ceramic components.” He added that the firm has established a complete in-house process—from design and production to ballistic testing—under what he called a “one-stop armor solution system.”
Samyang’s ceramic armor, composed of silicon carbide and other proprietary compounds, is considered on par with systems used in American M1 Abrams and German Leopard tanks.
The new deal follows a recent contract by another Korean SME, RFHIC, which signed a $2.2 million radar amplifier component agreement with Italy’s Leonardo earlier this month.