New 120mm turret passes tests on Turkish medium tank

Turkish manufacturer Otokar and Italy’s Leonardo have completed integration and live-fire testing of a 120mm turret mounted on Otokar’s Tulpar medium tank platform, a combination now being pitched as a potential replacement for Brazil’s aging Leopard 1A5 tanks.

The companies ran the tests at Italy’s UTTAT Nettuno test range near Rome, fitting the Tulpar with Leonardo’s HITFACT MkII turret. Before any live firing, engineering teams from both companies worked through an extensive integration program covering the mechanical, electrical, electronic and software interfaces between the tracked platform and the turret. Once that phase was complete, the combined system went through live-fire trials in both static and moving conditions, testing the weapon system, fire control, stabilization and overall functionality across a range of operational scenarios. According to the companies, the system met all of its planned test objectives.

“The successful completion of this program demonstrates TULPAR’s ability to integrate advanced large-caliber turret systems, while delivering the mobility, survivability and firepower required by modern armed forces,” said Sedef Vehbi, head of Otokar’s military division.

“We are pleased with the outcome and proud to demonstrate the technological excellence of our systems,” said Luca Perazzo, deputy general manager of Leonardo’s Defence Systems Business Unit. “The HITFACT turret is currently the only system in the world equipped with a 120mm smoothbore gun that offers the same firepower as a main battle tank system, while being able to integrate onto light or medium platforms and use the new Vulcano 120 guided ammunition for precision engagements.”

The HITFACT MkII carries an OTO-Melara 120mm, 45-caliber gun capable of firing all NATO-standard 120mm ammunition under the STANAG 4385 specification. The same turret already arms the Centauro II wheeled cavalry vehicle, which Brazil’s army recently ordered and plans to produce domestically. For now, the Centauro II and the Tulpar are the only two platforms qualified to carry the HITFACT MkII. The Tulpar itself belongs to a modern medium armored vehicle family Otokar designed with weights ranging from 28 to 45 tonnes, built around cross-terrain mobility and a modular architecture that can accept different mission equipment.

Brazil’s interest stems from a program to replace its Leopard 1A5 BR tanks, whose availability has suffered as spare parts from Germany have become harder to obtain. The Brazilian Army’s Armored Forces Strategic Program is working toward a new family of tracked vehicles that would share components between a future main battle tank and a new infantry fighting vehicle, reducing logistics complexity as the force modernizes. Four platforms have been shortlisted for the tank requirement: BAE Systems’ CV90, General Dynamics European Land Systems’ ASCOD, Rheinmetall’s Lynx, and Otokar’s Tulpar. Brazil has held government-to-government talks with the supplying countries as part of its evaluation.

Otokar’s pitch to Brazil goes beyond building the vehicle locally with Brazilian components. The company has offered full technology transfer and the possibility of handing intellectual property for Brazilian versions of the vehicle to the Brazilian army, along with a supply chain the company describes as free of U.S. and German export-control restrictions, which it says would give Brazil complete logistical independence.

Turkey’s armored vehicle industry, which began with licensed production and adapted foreign designs in the early 1980s, has since grown into a major exporter, led by the Otokar-developed Altay main battle tank, a roughly 65-tonne design influenced by South Korea’s K2 Black Panther. Turkish officials have said the country exported roughly 2,000 armored vehicles over the past five years. Otokar signed a contract worth about 857 million euros with Romania in late 2024 for 1,059 Cobra II vehicles, most of them built locally with full technology transfer, and the company is preparing to produce the Tulpar, including the HITFACT-armed version, at a plant in Kazakhstan. Turkey’s overall defense exports reached $11.2 billion between July 2025 and July 2026, according to trade publication TurDef.

Brazil’s Senate has already approved a defense industry cooperation agreement with Turkey, adding to Brazil’s existing defense industrial relationship with Italy. No decision has been announced on which platform will replace the Leopard 1A5 BR.

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