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South Korea’s XK2
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Turkey’s tank fleet is currently made up of American M-48s and M-60s, some of which have been modernized with Israeli cooperation into M-60 Sabra tanks, plus a large contingent of German Leopard 1s and Leopard 2s. That is hardy surprising. America and Germany are Turkey’s 2 most important geopolitical relationships, and this is reflected in Turkey’s choice of defense industry partners. The country’s industrial offset requirements ensure that these manufacturers have a long history of local partnerships to draw upon.

In recent years, however, a pair of new players have begun to make an impact on the Turkish defense scene. One was Israel, whose firms specialized in sub-systems, upgrades, and UAVs. The other is the Republic of [South] Korea, who has made inroads in the Turkish market with turboprop training aircraft, mobile howitzers, and now main battle tanks…

XK2, firing
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The ROK has been building a formidable local defense industry as a matter of policy, and this is now beginning to pay off in world class equipment for export. Relations with Turkey had been warm for some time, owing in part to the Turks’ heroic combat record in the Korean War. In recent years, that combination of warm relations and solid products has led to Turkish orders worth hundreds of millions of dollars for KT-1 turboprop training aircraft, and K-9/K-10 derived “Firtina” mobile howitzers.

In July 2007, South Korea’s inroads became undeniable, as discussions began concerning a deal to develop Turkey’s next generation tanks. That was a major upset, but it had yet to coalesce into a deal, and much can happen on the road to that final signature. By the end of July 2008, however, the ink was dry on a deal that will make Korea’s new XK2 the basis of Turkey’s co-produced Atilay tank.

Under this $400 million development deal, Turkey’s Otokar will build the tanks in cooperation with various sub-contractors, including:

• South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem (XK2 Black Panther base design, expertise and parts as required, help with modernization of Otokar’s factory in the northwestern province of Sakarya).
• Aselsan (fire control and C3I systems, other sub-systems)
• Turkish Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation, or MKE, (120mm/55 caliber main gun)
• Roketsan (Modular Armor Package)

The Republic of Turkey shall own all design and intellectual property rights to the final vehicle.

The Turks’ official goal is to design, test, and built the first Altay tank in 6.5 years, which would place the event in early 2015. The deal includes technology transfer worth $330 million dollars and the production of 4 prototypes worth $70 million dollars. Once development is complete, a second set of contracts will be signed. Turkey reportedly plans to produce at 200-250 of the tanks in Turkey.

The South Korean Defense Ministry added that:

“The signing of the contract on the ROK-Turkey technology cooperation in tank development is expected to greatly help boost the cooperation between the two countries in the defense industry sector, while the Ministry of Defense and the DAPA plan to provide full support to ensure smooth technology cooperation throughout the entire process of tank development from designing to production and testing.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Lee held ministerial talks with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara on July 28/08, in which the two agreed to continue building a cooperative relationship between their militaries….”

Timelines and Events

July 30/08: Representatives of the Turkish and South Korean governments sign the $400 million System Design & Development Memorandum of Understanding, making the Altay tank project a reality. This contract does not include the mass production process. Sources: ROK Ministry of Defense | Otokar Aug 1/08 release | KOIS | Korea Times |Turkish Daily News (beforehand) | Turkish Daily News (post-deal) | Today’s Zaman (Turkey) | Aviation Week Ares | Agence France Presse.

March 2007: According to a resolution adopted at the meeting of the National Defence Executive Committee, the Turkish government decides to begin contract negotiations with Otokar, as the nominee for prime contractor.

February 2007: Bid evaluation process, aiming to appoint the prime contractor, is completed in February 2007.

July 2006: RFP bids submitted by Otokar’s team, and by the BMC-FNSS Consortium.

FNSS Savunma Sistemleri A.S. makes some of Turkey’s armored personnel carriers; it is a joint venture between BAE Systems and the Turkish Nurol Group. BMC Sanaye Ve Ticaret A.S. makes wheeled vehicles and trucks for the Turkish armed forces, and is part of the large Turkish conglomerate Cukurova Holding.

February 2006: SSM issues the project’s Request for Proposals.

April 2005: Feasibility study complete. The path forward is defined as “designing and development of the main battle tank inside Turkey by getting technical support and assistance from abroad whenever required.”

2005: The Turkish SSM defense procurement agency charges a 3-firm Turkish industrial consortium with a feasibility study to determine the production pattern for the Turkish National Main Battle Tank Project.

Additional Readings

• Turkish SSM procurement agency – Turkish National Main Battle Tank Project

• Otokar corporate site

• Wikipedia – K2 Black Panther

• Technorati – Videos / South Korea Next Generation Main Battle Tank XK2

• Army Technology – K1A1 Main Battle Tank, South Korea

• Yonhap news service (May 27/08) – Seoul, Istanbul seal agreement on logistics cooperation. Military logistics, involving security of ammunition supply and other commodities in peace or war. This is an important agreement, and its signature makes the ROK’s status as a major Turkish arms supplier official.