In a parallel event to the NATO Heads of State and Government Summit in Washington, the Turkish-American Business Council (TAIK) and the American-Turkish Business Development Council (ATBDC) organized a meeting that highlighted CANiK’s newly completed factory in the United States as a prime example of defense industry collaboration.
CANiK, participating in the roundtable discussion held in conjunction with the NATO Summit, was represented by General Manager Cahit Utku Aral. The event saw high-level attendance, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkish Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, and retired U.S. General Tod D. Wolters, who served in various NATO capacities over the years.
The roundtable, moderated by ATBDC Board Member Gregory Bloom and led by TAIK Chairman Murat Özyeğin, also featured Defense Industries President Prof. Dr. Haluk Görgün, underscoring the high-level representation from Turkey’s defense sector. Sponsored by CANiK and other leading defense industry companies, the meeting aimed to further develop new defense industry collaborations between the U.S. and Turkey.
Industry leaders from both nations attended the meeting to discuss future cooperation and strategic projects. During the event, CANiK’s new factory in the U.S. was highlighted as a significant milestone in bilateral defense cooperation.
Cahit Utku Aral stated, “The recent steps taken in our existing defense industry relations between the two countries have ushered in a new era. Various projects are being implemented by institutions and companies from both countries. CANiK has completed its efforts to establish a production facility in the U.S.”
Aral emphasized that the investment in the U.S. was aimed at transferring technology and selling medium-caliber weapons, which are not produced in the U.S., to the U.S. military. “This investment was undertaken to facilitate the technology transfer and sale of medium-caliber weapons produced by the Samsun Yurt Savunma Group companies to the U.S. military,” he noted.
Highlighting the importance of strategic partnerships and technology transfers in the defense industry, Aral added, “As CANiK, we are engaged in various projects in different countries, and we have added a new link to these with the U.S. We aim to contribute to strengthening the relations between the two countries with our activities in the U.S., as we do in other countries.”