Turkey's largest defense company Aselsan has completed the modernization of the German Leopard 2A4 tank, which will serve partly as a test bed for the country's planned first main battle tank, the Altay. The new tank will be displayed at IDEF 2011, Turkey's largest defense fair will be held from 10 - 13 May 2011.

Video Aselsan modernized version of german made main battle tank Leopard 2A4

Aselsan, while modernizing the Leopard 2A4, has replaced the tank's all electronic, electro-optical, electro-mechanical and electro-hydraulic equipment with its state-of-the-art systems, the state news agency said. Many of the subsystems Aselsan has used to modernize the Leopard 2A4 will be included in the Altay.

Aselsan earlier modernized 171 German-made Leopard 1 tanks under a $160 million contract with the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, or SSM, Turkey's defense procurement agency.