Why Does Turkey Have So Many Tanks?
Summary and Key Points: Turkey maintains a large tank fleet, comprising around 700 modern tanks and 1,500 older, upgraded ones, reflecting its significant geopolitical ambitions under President Tayyip Erdogan.
-With dreams of reviving Ottoman-era influence in regions like the Balkans, North Africa, and the Middle East, Turkey continues to invest heavily in its military. However, strained relations with the U.S. and Germany have pushed Turkey to develop its own defense industry, including the Altay main battle tank.
-The Altay, a fourth-generation tank inspired by South Korea's K2 Black Panther, is set to become Turkey's primary armored vehicle, despite ongoing delays in the program.
Turkey Has Lots of Tanks: Why?
Recently, we explored why Greece has more main battle tanks than the United Kingdom and France combined. Today, we will be exploring why Turkey—the reason why Greece feels the need to field over 850 tanks—itself has such a large tank fleet.
The Turkish Tank Fleet
The Turkish military fields have approximately 700 modern tanks, as well as about 1,500 older tanks that have undergone a series of upgrades.
Specifically, the Turkish military has approximately 330 Leopard 2, 350 Leopard 1, 160 M60 Sabra, 650 M60 Patton, and 750 M48 Patton. Only the Leopards and some of the upgraded M60s would be competitive on the modern battlefield.
Turkey has a large tank fleet that matches its large geopolitical ambitions. Under President Tayyip Erdogan's tutelage, Turkey has sought a bigger role in the Balkans, Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Middle East.
The Turkish dream, as expressed directly or indirectly by Erdogan and other Turkish officials, is of a country whose power would be reminiscent of that of the Ottoman Empire. Well, the Ottoman Empire didn’t grow on words. And so Turkey continues to invest in its military, including tanks, for possible fighting against Greece and possible future expansions in Syria and Iraq.
Similarly to the Hellenic Army, the Turkish military operates tanks made in both Germany and the United States. Indeed, successive U.S. administrations have tried to balance military sales to the two countries so as not to give one an advantage over the other in the event of a conflict. Although both Greece and Turkey are NATO members and thus part of the same military alliance, in reality, they share an ancient animosity that has erupted or threatened to erupt into conflict several times over the past 100 years.
But lately, Turkey’s behavior has tilted that balance in favor of Greece.
A Turn to Domestic Tanks for Turkey
Turkey’s increasingly anti-American and anti-Western behavior has caused significant damage to the relations of the country with the U.S. and Germany. As a result, in many instances, the Turkish military has been barred from accessing American and European defense products.
. In addition, Ankara blocked the admission of Finland and Sweden to NATO for months over its own domestic agenda. the Russian S-400 Triumf air defense system stealth fighter jet program over its decision to purchase and activateF-35 Lightning IIMost notably, Turkey was kicked out of the
Although relations have somewhat improved recently, Turkey understands that it can’t rely on military purchases from the West. As such, it has been developing its own defense and aerospace industries.
In the field of tanks, the Turkish military has been investing heavily in the Altay main battle tank. A fourth-generation tank based on the Korean K2 Black Panther, the Altay seeks to be the main tank of the Turkish military for the next half a century. The Turkish military plans to purchase approximately 1,000 Altay main battle tanks throughout the program to make the armored vehicle the primary fighting tank. However, the program has been active for over a decade and has faced difficulties and delays. The Turkish military aims to have an operational capability by 2025.
About the Author:
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
Image Credit: Creative Commons.