Turkey’s ruling AKP blames Germany for delay in Altay tank production

The mass production of Turkey’s Altay tanks has been delayed due to failure of German companies to fulfil their responsibilities, an official with Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) said on Wednesday.

Turkey is “absolutely determined’’

The tank programme consists of “components with different wings,’’ the AKP lawmaker said, adding, “Matters become delayed when a party says ‘I am not fulfilling my responsibilities,’’ referring to German companies.

“Then, you are forced to continue with different options,’’ he added.

Turkish negotiations with German defence firms for the production on Turkey’s Altay main battle tank began stalling as of 2017 due to tensions between Berlin and Ankara, in addition to a German arms embargo against Turkey.

The country had sent an ambitious two-year timeline for the Altay programme in 2019, announcing that the main battle tank would be fielded in 2021. But experts maintain the latter deadline has become unattainable.

The tank’s Turkish-Qatari manufacturer, BMC, is in talks with South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem to solve problems surrounding missing foreign technology for the tanks, Defense News reported last month.

Among the German firms in talks with Turkey for powering Altay tanks was MTU engine, whose sales director is Ömer Demir. Demir, who has worked with the company since 2018 as head of sales to Turkey and Russia, is the son of Ismail Demir, the head of the Turkish Defence Industries Directorate (SSB), who on Monday was hit with U.S. sanctions over Turkey’s Russian S-400 defence systems purchase.

In 2018, the SSM signed a deal with BMC for the design, development, prototype production, testing and qualification of the Altay.

İsmail Demir in Nov. 2018 had announced on Twitter that “The first Altay tank will be delivered in 18 months.’’

SSB ile BMC arasında ALTAY Seri Üretim Projesi Sözleşmesi imzalandı. Proje, 250 adet ALTAY ana muharebe tankının seri üretimi ile birlikte ömür devri lojistik desteği ile TSTM kurulumu ve işletilmesini kapsıyor. İlk ALTAY tankı 18 ay sonra KKK'ya teslim edilecek. Hayırlı olsun. pic.twitter.com/IYiMhxwtBd

— Ismail Demir (@IsmailDemirSSB) November 9, 2018

The denial of engine technology by European firms has dealt a considerable set back to plans for production of the Altay, which Turkish officials tout as the country’s first fully national, indigenous tank.

Akbaşoğlu on Wednesday vowed to begin production on the tank, saying the Turkish government would not give way to “those looking to abort this project.’’

“We are once again going to demonstrate the power of this nation and its people,’’ he said.

Source: ahvalnews.com

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