6 NEW GENERATION FIRTINA HOWITZERS WERE HANDED OVER TO THE TURKISH ARMED FORCES AT A CEREMONY ATTENDED BY PRESIDENT RECEP TAYYIP ERDOĞAN

6 New Generation Fırtına Howitzers were delivered to the Turkish Armed Forces at a ceremony held on Monday, January 09 at the BMC DEFENCE Arifiye Facility, known commonly as the Tank Track Factory, with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. 

The FIRTINA Howitzer, one of the most important firepower in the field, which is used intensively and actively by the Turkish Armed Forces in many operations such as Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch, Peace Spring and Spring Shield, includes many features with its renewed version developed and produced by BMC DEFENCE.

The New Generation FIRTINA Howitzer, which can reach speeds of up to 65 kilometers per hour, can pass through trenches 2.8 meters wide and water 1.5 meters deep. The New Generation FIRTINA Howitzer features a new turret design with ammunition air conditioning sections, a fully electric and servo-controlled turret mounting system, an improved fire control system, increased rate of fire and an extended effective range. The electrically operated and electronically controlled automatic ammunition loading system in its previous version has been upgraded to fully automatic in the New Generation FIRTINA Howitzer. The New Generation FIRTINA Howitzer, which has also gained the ability to fire visually for self-protection, has many new features, including ASELSAN's 12.7 mm SARP RCWS (Remote Controlled Stabilized Weapon System).

Within the scope of the project carried out in cooperation with BMC DEFENCE, ASELSAN, MKE and ASFAT, a total of 140 New Generation FIRTINA Howitzers will be delivered to the Turkish Armed Forces. Besides, instead of the imported engine and transmission, which is the most critical technology in the FIRTINA Howitzer, the domestic and national engine and transmission developed by BMC POWER will be used as of 2025.

Fuat Tosyalı, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of BMC: "We want to show what Turkish defence industry can do all over the world with BMC"

Speaking at the delivery ceremony, Fuat Tosyalı, Chairman of the Board of Directors of BMC, said: "When we, as Tosyalı, acquired the majority stake in BMC, we did not see this as a commercial activity, but primarily as a national issue. We set out to see how we could contribute to this field with our 70 years of industrial culture and experience. With this understanding, we are renewing and developing not only our manpower and vehicles at the BMC DEFENCE Arifiye Facility, but also the infrastructure of the facility within the framework of our commitment to our state. We are working intensively to eliminate external dependency by replacing foreign-origin test benches with domestic and national software and hardware. We renew the infrastructures of all work and production areas in 5-year investment plans and invest in new workbenches. With technology, innovation and R&D, and with the intelligence and work of Turkish engineers, we are implementing many innovations in this facility that will be pioneers in the global defence industry. The new Fırtına Howitzer, the Panther Howitzer and, of course, the ALTAY Main Battle Tank, all of which we are realizing with the strength of our innovation and R&D efforts. Within the scope of BMC POWER's ongoing projects, we have ensured that one of Europe's leading Engine and transmission Test Centers has been established in this facility by investing approximately 30 million dollars in this facility. As a result of our investments in BMC,

BMC became the export leader among Defence Industry Land Vehicle Manufacturers in 2022. It has also become the 5th most exporting company in the defence industry. Following our successful moves, many countries started to invite us to their countries to invest in the defence industry.

We want to show what Turkish defence industry can do all over the world with BMC."

MANY IMPORTANT PROJECTS ARE BEING CARRIED OUT AT BMC DEFENCE ARİFİYE FACILITY

The facility, which was founded in 1969 to meet the critical needs of the Turkish Armed Forces and has been meeting the crucial production, maintenance and repair needs of our army for more than half a century, has been in service under the control and supervision of the Ministry of National Defense under the operation of BMC DEFENCE since August 21, 2019.

In addition to the production and renewal of tracks and walking parts for caterpillar vehicles, engine and transmission renewal, and the production and renewal of classical optical systems, which have been ongoing since the establishment of the facility, many projects that have a very important place in our defence industry have recently been carried out in this facility.

In the past three years, Turkey's most competent armored vehicle design and production team has been established at the facility, where many important projects such as increasing the effectiveness of FIRTINA Howitzers on the battlefield, improving the capabilities of the main battle tank and designing armored vehicles from scratch are being carried out.

The ALTAY Main Battle Tank was first designed 10 years ago, and its survivability, firepower and technology developments in line with the needs of the changing battlefield are being carried out by competent and experienced Turkish engineers working here, and the "New ALTAY" is being prepared for mass production.

Furthermore, the new generation armored personnel carrier vehicle ALTUG 8x8, designed and developed by BMC with the quality and performance to compete in the world market, is also being produced in these facilities. In addition to meeting the needs of the Turkish Armed Forces in this field, the ALTUG 8x8 is also expected to play an important role in meeting the demands of friendly and allied countries, and will make a significant contribution to Turkish defence industry exports.

Also, the BMC POWER Engine and Transmission Test Center, one of the few military engine test centers in Europe, which was established with an investment of approximately USD 30 million within the scope of the projects carried out by BMC POWER, stands out as an important investment brought to the facility in the last 3 years. The serial production of Turkey's first domestic and national military engines with 400 horsepower is also carried out in the engine-transmission production line established at this facility. The design and development activities of BATU, the indigenous and national power group of the "New ALTAY" and UTKU, the domestic and national power group of the "New Generation FIRTINA" are also carried out at the BMC DEFENCE Arifiye Facility.

Finally, in addition to other investments, BMC DEFENCE has made an additional investment of approximately USD 10 million for the renewal of the infrastructure and machinery park of the facility, and plans to continue investing more and more.