Turkey received bids in tender for 500 battle tanks last week: Minister

ANKARA

Turkey received bids on Nov. 17 for the production of 500 Altay battle tanks, of which 250 are optional, Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said on Nov. 22.

Speaking to parliament’s budget commission, Canikli said the tender would be finalized in the coming days, Reuters reported.

The domestic Altay tank project is worth an estimated 7 billion euros (6.22 billion pounds).

Koç Holding’s Otokar previously said it submitted a proposal to Turkey’s defense authorities to bid in a tender for the mass production of the country’s indigenous battle tank Altay.

In a statement to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) late on Nov. 16, Otokar said it submitted the proposal to the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) on that day.

FNSS also submitted an offer for the new tender, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Nov. 17.

Otokar, which developed the Altay prototype, made a final offer to start mass production in August 2016, but the SSM on June 9 refused to accept the company’s offer, citing “disagreements over some contract terms, mainly over price.” It added that the SSM would likely meet the needs through a tender.