CANiK Announces Acquisition of British AEI Systems
At a reception held at the British ConsulateGeneral in Istanbul, CANiK announced the acquisition of AEI Systems, the well-established UK-based company. The guns that will be mass-produced both in the UK and Türkiye will be offered to the land, air, and naval platforms of all friendly and allied countries, particularly Türkiye and the UK, for use on remote-controlled weapon systems. As part of the strategic activities of CANiK, one of the world's leading small arms manufacturers, the acquisition process of AEI Systems headquartered in the UK was finalized in December 2022 with the approval of the United Kingdom.
A special reception was held for the acquisition of AEI Systems, hosted by the British Consulate General., Kenan POLEO, Consul General Istanbul and Trade Commissioner Eastern Europe and Central Asia Network (EECAN) delivered a speech at the opening of the reception said, "I congratulate Samsun Yurt Savunma (SYS) and CANiK on their investment in AEI Systems. I am confident that this partnership will bring CANiK and AEI Systems many opportunities in new and existing markets, and I wish both companies a long-lasting success and alliance. I’m fully aware that both the UK and Türkiye are willing to work more closely together, to support each other, and to look for opportunities that will benefit both countries."
“Target Revenue of over US$ 100 million”
CANiK General Manager C. Utku ARAL made the following remarks during the ceremony: “With the finalization of the acquisition, AEI Systems has become one of our subsidiaries. AEI Systems will continue to be a brand in medium caliber weapons. Development, production, and assembly activities will keep growing at AEI Systems' facilities in the United Kingdom. Production activities will be carried out within AEI Systems and the UK ecosystem, especially to the extent that the ‘Made in UK’ mark will be used. By the end of five years, we aim to increase medium caliber gun sales turnover to over 100 million dollars annually. The operations of AEI Systems will also be supported by UNIROBOTICS, one of our subsidiaries. UNIROBOTICS offers high-tech, innovative, and competitive gun turret integration solutions for medium caliber guns. The first fruit of these solutions is UNIROBOTICS' TRAKON 30 turrets equipped with a 30x113 mm gun. Thanks to its capacity to fire a wide variety of ammunition and its low recoil, the 30x113mm gun can be integrated into all platforms, including 4x4 land vehicles and small boats, with either remote-controlled or operator-controlled support. Despite recent growth in the use of 30x113mm guns on land and naval vehicles, these weapons have long served as the primary armament of rotary and fixed-wing aircraft and have evolved into a significant force multiplier, especially given their capacity to fire high-explosive ammunition.”
“They are also being integrated for projects in Türkiye”
C. Utku ARAL listed the areas of use and projects of the 30x113 mm guns that the Turkish and global defense and aerospace industries are working on as follows: “In 4x4 tactical vehicles, the TRAKON 30 turret was integrated into Nurol Makina's EJDER YALÇIN vehicle. In the field of unmanned ground vehicles, the integration of the TRAKON 30 turret onto HAVELSAN's KAPGAN vehicle is among the ongoing projects. In addition, it can be easily integrated on all 6x6 and 8x8 tactical wheeled armored vehicles. In terms of main battle tanks, the choice of the 30x113 mm gun over the 12.7 mm heavy machine gun as the tank's close-range protection weapon in the new generation tank concept, the first examples of which were seen with ABRAHAM-X in the United States and E-MBT in Europe, reveals the significance of the capabilities that this gun brings to the platform in today's combat conditions. As for the aircraft, the 30x113 mm guns are already in active use on the AIRBUS TIGER and BOEING APACHE attack helicopters, as well as on the French DASSAULT 4/4+ new generation fighter aircraft. Negotiations for the integration of these guns have also begun for TUSAŞ's heavy class ATAK II attack helicopter and BAYKAR's Kızılelma Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Additionally, concept studies for the integration of 30x113mm weapon systems have been started with manufacturers of manned and unmanned surface platforms.”
“Export activities will pick up steam”
C. Utku ARAL stated that they will also pick up steam in the field of exports together with AEI Systems and added, "We believe that the 30x113 mm gun is a crucial product for Türkiye and the United Kingdom. Once the integration of the gun and UNIROBOTICS' TRAKON 30 turret is complete, we will start collaborating with all the key platform manufacturers we are already working with in this field. We have completed all our investment plans for the following five years with the acquisition of AEI Systems. We will no longer invest in the acquisition; instead, we will develop and produce products.”
