Arms trade

Turkish Tank Sees Pakistani, Saudi Interest

A number of countries Turkey views as “allies” are interested in buying what will become Turkey’s first indigenous new generation main battle tank, the Altay, the top procurement official has said.

Ismail Demir, head of the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) said during a presentation in parliament that including Pakistan and the Gulf countries with which Turkey has good political relations were showing a large interest in the Altay.

“Lately, we have seen that Saudi Arabia’s interest was big,” he said.

He said that Turkey invited officials from these countries to the ongoing firing tests for the Altay. “The tests, meanwhile, are extremely satisfying,” Demir said.

The SSM officials said at the briefing that five prototypes of the tank have been produced and succeeded in tests in different spots across Turkey.