Official remarks by UkrOboronProm (UOP), Ukraine’s highest state institution in defence industry, as regards the engine of the Turkish Main Battle Tank Altay, have drawn much attention. In its aftermath, we interviewed with Delta Defence Savunma Ltd., representing the engine family in Turkey mentioned by UOP, to learn more about them and their targets.
Serdar Özyurt, General Manager of Delta Defence Savunma Ltd., is not a publicly known figure: “We started working for modernisation of BMZ Weapon Factory, established in the 1960s in what was today’s Kyrgyzstan. This venture enabled us to receive considerable technical support from Ukrainian companies.”
Özyurt, who moved to Turkey following the work in Kyrgyzstan, established here a company. Resuming from where he left off, Özyurt has nevertheless maintained his contacts in Ukraine: “In this context, we saw the requirements in Turkey. We were particularly engaged in activities concerning tank engine as well as requirements for Zaslon Reactive Armour and ammunition. We prepared the necessary supply chain and technology transfer network. I shared these efforts with authorities in the Ministry of National Defence, Undersectretariat for Defence Industries and MKEK (Machine and Chemical Industry Corporation).”
