ANKARA 

Türkiye's main battle tank, named "Altay," will be powered by a homegrown power pack, eliminating the need for foreign assistance in operating the vehicle.

The test and development phases for the domestically produced power pack have begun, following Altay's mass production of a pack sourced from South Korea last month.

The project aims to produce 85 tanks using the Korean pack before transitioning to a homegrown one.

BMC Power, a Turkish company, is developing and producing engines with capacities of 400 and 600 horsepower (hp), as well as 1,000 and 1,500 horsepower.

At its newly opened plant in the Turkish capital of Ankara, the firm will manufacture domestic engines and transmissions for the Altay tank, the Fırtına self-propelled howitzer, and many of the next-generation armored vehicles and naval platforms.

The South Korean power group will power the Altay series until 2028, while the maturity of the domestic replacement, the BATU Power Group, is expected to increase by the end of next year.

The Altay, powered by a homegrown engine and equipped with the BATU Power Group, will be ready by the end of next year.