ANKARA CHAMBER OF INDUSTRY RELEASES NATO ANKARA SUMMIT REPORT
NEW WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR ANKARA, THE HEART OF THE DEFENSE INDUSTRY
ACI CHAIRMAN ARDIÇ: IT IS TIME TO CARRY ANKARA’S PRODUCTION POWER INTO THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM
The Ankara Chamber of Industry (ACI) published its comprehensive report following the Ankara Summit, analyzing the opportunities, competitive conditions and risks created for Ankara industry by the transformation envisaged in NATO’s defense production and procurement structure. The report emphasized that Ankara, the heart of the defense industry, offers new opportunities not only with its strong production and technology infrastructure, but also for companies operating in different sectors with convertible production capacity. Evaluating the report, which also outlines the roadmap for industrialists to prepare for this process and the work ACI will carry out for its members, ACI Chairman Seyit Ardıç said, “Ankara has a strong production capacity. Now is the time to measure, certify and transform this power into an indispensable part of the international system.”
Following the NATO Summit held in Ankara, the Ankara Chamber of Industry examined the reflections of the new era envisaged in defense production, supply chains and industrial cooperation on Ankara industry. The report titled “2026 NATO Ankara Summit and the New Position of Ankara Industry: From Ownership to Capacity” addressed not only the high-volume procurement and investment figures announced at the Summit, but also the transformation NATO envisages in its production and procurement structure and the opportunities this transformation creates for Ankara industry. While evaluating the share Ankara industry can receive from this process, the report also included the steps companies need to take to prepare for the new era and ACI’s roadmap for its members.
The report emphasized that the lasting impact of the Summit should be assessed not only through the announced financial figures, but together with the transformation envisaged in defense production and procurement structures. With the “from ownership to capacity” approach, the report addressed the fact that, in addition to owning factories, accessing certified production capacity through production networks is also becoming a strategic option in the new era.
More than 50 billion U.S. dollars in new procurement was announced at the Summit. According to the report, this amount does not represent a common NATO budget, but rather the total of national procurement announcements by allies. NATO’s new industrial strategy, on the other hand, offers new opportunities for companies to participate in international supply chains by making existing production capacity and demand areas more visible.
THE OPPORTUNITY IS NOT LIMITED TO THE DEFENSE INDUSTRY
The opportunities offered by NATO’s new production approach for Ankara are not limited only to companies already operating in the defense industry. In the new era, in addition to companies involved in the defense industry with their own products and technologies, industrial enterprises that do not have an original defense product but possess certified production capacity, machinery infrastructure and technical competence will also be able to participate in the system.
NATO’s approach of rapidly increasing production during periods of crisis also creates a new area for civilian industry. Production capacity in sectors such as food processing, automotive supply industry, plastics, chemicals, rubber and packaging may be adapted to different needs when necessary and become part of this production structure. However, maintaining crisis-ready capacity creates an additional cost for companies during peacetime. The report points out that convertible production capacity does not consist solely of machinery infrastructure; the workforce, alternative supply sources and production lines must also be prepared in advance. The mechanisms for how this capacity will be supported need to be determined at the national level.
THE INDUSTRIALIST’S ROADMAP: “BECOMING VISIBLE, ENTERING, RISING”
Ankara industry’s participation in NATO’s new production and procurement system consists of three stages: “becoming visible, entering and rising.” Accordingly, the first stage is for companies to define and certify their production capabilities in line with international standards and make them visible. Access to demand and receiving orders with competitive costs come to the forefront in the second stage. In the third stage, it is important for companies not to remain merely subcontractors providing production capacity, but to move to a higher position in the value chain through strong contract terms and technological learning. According to the report, these three stages are based on different conditions: coding and certification are required to become visible, access to demand and competitive costs are required to enter, and contract power and technological learning are required to rise.
Certification and registration in supplier systems are important starting points, but they do not guarantee orders on their own. In addition to the certificates companies hold, energy and input costs, delivery reliability, security clearances and technical documentation capabilities are also decisive in competition.
VISIBILITY WILL ALSO INCREASE COMPETITION
The report also notes that the new system will not only create opportunities for Ankara industry. While making production capacity visible in international systems will enable companies in Ankara to access new customers, it will also increase competition with domestic and foreign production centers that have similar capabilities. Therefore, it is important for companies to focus not only on order volume, but also on their position in the value chain.
According to the report, companies that provide production capacity but fail to develop design, intellectual property, customer relations and technological learning capacity in this process may remain easily replaceable subcontractors despite an increase in turnover.
ACI WILL PREPARE ITS MEMBERS FOR THE NEW ERA
ACI will carry out work under six headings in order to transform the opportunities created by NATO’s new production and procurement order for Ankara industry into concrete gains. First, the preparedness level of members will be measured; Ankara industry’s production capabilities, certification status and supplier registration status will be identified. Efforts will be carried out to make companies’ production capabilities searchable in international systems.
The basis of this work will be the capacity reports already prepared by ACI. The data in the capacity reports regarding machinery parks, production capacity and personnel structure are planned to be matched with international classifications and used to create a searchable capability inventory for Ankara industry.
Training programs will be organized in coding and technical file preparation in order to define production capabilities in line with international standards. Members will be directed to existing support mechanisms and accredited testing opportunities in Ankara for certification and testing processes. ACI will also prepare an inventory of accredited testing and verification capacity in Ankara and address access conditions to this capacity together with the relevant institutions.
ACI will also prepare a guide on contract processes to ensure that companies do not remain only capacity providers in international production chains. The guide will address the registration of design contributions, joint development, joint intellectual property, the right to use references, protection of process know-how and delivery provisions during crisis periods. Barriers in defense trade and developments affecting the competitiveness of industrialists will be monitored, and members’ views and demands will be conveyed to the relevant authorities.
As NATO prepares the Implementation Plan expected to shape the next three-year implementation framework, bringing the views and demands of Ankara industry into national decision-making processes will also be on ACI’s agenda. The first industrial opinion within this scope is planned to be formed by October 2026.
ACI CHAIRMAN ARDIÇ: “OUR POWER IS ON THE SHOP FLOOR”
In his evaluation of the report, ACI Chairman of the Board Seyit Ardıç stated that Ankara’s strength in the defense industry is based not only on the sector’s leading major companies, but also on a broad production infrastructure.
Pointing out that five Turkish companies listed among the world’s top 100 defense industry companies are ACI members, Chairman Ardıç said that many SMEs are also part of the defense industry supply chain with their production and engineering capabilities.
Emphasizing that Ankara’s production power must be carried to a stronger position in international value chains, Ardıç said, “Our power is on the shop floor; the area we need to develop is the position of this power within the value chain. Ankara has a strong production capacity, but the share it receives remains below what it produces.”
Chairman Ardıç also underlined that it is not enough for companies to become visible in international systems and said, “I would particularly like to emphasize that our members should not act with the assumption that certification alone will bring business. Certification is a condition for not being eliminated in competition, but it is not a guarantee of being selected.”
“OUR GOAL IS STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP”
Stating that while new production networks offer important opportunities for Ankara industry, the position of companies in the value chain is also important, Chairman Ardıç said, “This may increase order volume; however, it may also leave our companies in the position of subcontractors without a brand, design rights or customer relationship. In such a picture, even if turnover increases, the same increase may not be reflected in profitability and market power. Our main goal is to enable our companies in Ankara to go beyond being capacity providers and transform into strategic business partners.”
Chairman Ardıç continued as follows:
“The first question every industrialist should ask themselves must be this: ‘Has the production capacity and machinery infrastructure in our factory been certified in a way that makes it visible in international supply chains?’ The second question is this: ‘When we become visible, what strength do we have that will make us preferred and, over time, indispensable?’ Our companies that have an answer to the first question can enter the race; those that can give a strong answer to the second question can win the race. Ankara has a strong production capacity. Now is the time to measure, certify and transform this power into an indispensable part of the international system.”