Successful tests of Korean DV27K engine into the Turkish Altay MBT

ANKARA— Turkey is currently conducting field tests on its main Altay battle tank with an integrated South Korean Doosan DV27K engine. Turkish Defense Industry President Ismail Demir said in an interview that after the integration of the power supply into the Altay tank prototype and ongoing tests, the results were “very good”. “We have now reached a point in terms of mass production with Korea. This is the first time that this energy system has been integrated into a tank,” Demir said.

Successful tests of Korean DV27K engine in the Turkish tank Altay — Photo: Wallpaper Flare

South Korea will help Turkey with engines for the Altay tank — Doosan engine, Photo credit: Army Recognition

Demir also said that at the moment the Turkish tank still has a German transmission and a South Korean transmission is expected to arrive soon. According to Demir, the integration of the new transmission will prolong the tests a bit, but not for too long. In two years, Altai could enter serial production, according to the president of the Turkish defense industry.

However, Turkey does not rely entirely on South Korean engines. BulgarianMilitary.com has repeatedly reported that Ankara is developing its own engine – Batu. Its development continues in 2022 and is expected to replace its South Korean competitor in the future. Batu is expected to be more potent than the South Korean engine – 1600 hp. The machine will be diesel with an autonomous gearbox. However, the Turks do not yet have the technology for its development, so they do it together with the Italian manufacturer Fiat / Iveco. The manufacturer of the engine is the Turkish company BMS.

ALTAY main battle tank

The main battle tank Altay was supposed to enter service in 2023, but most likely this could happen in the period 2023-2025. Over the years, this project has had to be modified many times, as Turkey has come under restrictions from some Western countries and an arms embargo has been imposed. This has forced Ankara to focus on local production.

Turkey plans to produce a total of 1,000 units of this tank, divided into four orders of 250 units. It is expected to have a total mass of 65 tons. The tank will be controlled by a four-member crew – commander, gunner, loader, and driver.

Light at the end of the tunnel for the Turkish Altay tank — Photo credit: Mesut Er

The currently integrated Doosan DV27K engine from Korean manufacturer Hyundai Doosan Infracore is a 12-cylinder water-cooled diesel engine. This engine will provide Altai with 1,500 horsepower or 1,110 kW. The tank will develop a maximum speed of 65 km / h, and with the refueling of one tank will travel up to 450 km.

The main gun is a Turkish-made – MKE 120 mm smoothbore tank gun. As additional armament, the tank will have one remote-controlled weapon station equipped with a 12.7 mm / 7.62 mm machine gun and one 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun. The armor of the tank will also be made in Turkey by the company Roketsan and will be an armor package including composite armor.