President of Defence Industries (SSB) Professor Ismail Demir announced that the Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tank armour upgrade is on serial production now. “We started the serial production of the armour package designed and produced at the Roketsan Ballistic Protection Center and started its integration into the tanks,” he said on Twitter.
Demir underlined that different armour configurations are applied to turret and hull according to threat analysis.
SSB has also shared a video. The video includes an opening ceremony of an armour upgrade facility. The banner on the ceremony states that the first armour system for the Leopard tank is delivered. Two upgraded Leopard 2A4 tanks are also seen in the video.
Turkey acquired second hand Leopard 2A4 tanks from Germany.
Roketsan disclosed its armour solution on August 30th, 2020, in the Roketsan facility. The tank was with its original turret and included an example of armour placement suitable for the hull. In addition, there were armour plates and Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) on the tank as well.
In January 2021, Defence Minister Hulusi Akar watched the demonstration of armoured vehicles produced by BMC. The demonstration included the Leopard tank upgraded with the Altay tower integration. The protocol met with “Leopard 2A4 tank with Altay turret” terminology.
Tanks seen in the video do not include ERA and Altay Tank Turret.
