Qatar officials have disclosed plans to procure new Turkish main battle tanks, called the Altay, according to several media reports.
Vice Chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Ali İhsan Yavuz said that Qatar will buy up to 100 tanks from Turkey and 40 of them will be delivered to the Gulf country in the first phase.
Yavuz noted that after the first delivery, domestic engines will start to be used in the tanks. Currently, the Altay’s prototype is powered by a 1,500 hp diesel engine from Germany’s MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH.
The contract for the mass production of the next-generation battle tank was signed between Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) and the domestic armored vehicle manufacturer BMC in November 2018.
Altay is Turkey’s domestically designed and manufactured third-generation+ main battle tank (MBT) and developed under Turkey’s largest land platform project.
Altay incorporates state-of-the-art technologies enabling enhanced armour protection, mobility and fire power.
The tank is projected to have a 120 millimeters (4.7 in) smoothbore gun and will include CBRN defense elements, to protect it from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons. The planned maximum speed is set at 70 kilometers per hour (43 mph), provided by a 1,800 hp (1,300 kW) engine (the first two batches will have 1,500 hp (1,100 kW) engines), and the MBTs will be able to function under 4.1 metres (13 ft) of water.