Indigenous anti-aircraft gun will take both SYS and Turkey to a higher league in their sector
SYS’s Managing Director C. Utku Aral stated that they will produce a minimum of 1,500 pcs. CANiK M2 QCB 12.7 mm for the year 2022 and that their capacity will increase to 2,500 at the end of the year, and also stated that 90 percent of the production is allocated
Following the production of high quality handguns, Samsun Yurt Savunma (SYS) took a new step domesticly and globally with the production of high quality CANiK M2 QCB 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun. SYS has completed many years of R&D studies, tests and investments for the production of the CANiK M2 12.7 mm heavy machine gun, also called anti-aircraft machine gun, and finally went into mass production in the second quarter of 2021. SYS Managing Director C. Utku Aral said that following the production of the CANiK M2 QCB 12.7 mm heavy machine gun, known as Turkey’s “indigenousanti-aircraft machine gun”, they are the 5th company in the world with the ability to produce indigenous anti aircraft machine gun, and underlines that they receive heavy orders from the Middle East and Africa. Stating that indigenous anti-aircraft machine guns are used in all kinds of fire support missions by placing them in all elements involved in defense and special operations in the Turkish Armed Forces, Aral answered our other questions as follows:
When did the CANiK M2 QCB 12.7 mm heavy machine gun begin mass production? How much R&D expenses did you make in total for the start?
C. Utku Aral: The prototype production of the PMT 12.7 project, signed in January 2018, was made and tested in the second half of 2020. And the mass production started in the second quarter of 2021. While the total R&D expenditure since 2018 was 6 million USD including tests, it was 12.5 million USD with machinery investment.
How much efforts of R&D did you spend in total for the production of indigenous anti-aircraft machine gun? How many employees and how much time did they spend for this product?
C. Utku Aral: Our R&D team of 10 people carried out the design works of the product full-time for 2 years for this project. In addition to that, a process and quality team of 10 continued to work for the industrialization of designs. R&D, quality control, quality system, purchasing in addition to production planning, special processes (heat treatment, coating), in assembly units, a team of 80 people in total for indigenousanti-aircraft units has spent 2 years on this project and continues to work.
Can you briefly state the CANiK M2? How is the operation for this? In addition, are new versions of CANiK M2 on your agenda?
C. Utku Aral: CANiK M2 QCB machine gun; is a belt-fed, shortrecoil, air-cooled, left- or right-fed machine gun with singleshot and automatic-fire options, which can be controlled by the user or automatically in gun turrets. The CANiK M2 QCB stands out with its quick-change barrel feature, the ability to be integrated into air/land/naval vehicles and gun turrets, and the functionality that can be used on a tripod. After the design and illustration of the CANiK M2 QCB machine gun parts by the R&D department; each part was produced and controlled in a complex structure, such as determining the materials to be used, purchasing the materials by the purchasing department, and transferring them to production through production planning department. Our entire team has fulfilled and continues to fulfill its own responsibilities in an integrated manner, according to the defined workflow. I can give you the good news that we have started the design of the M2F (Fast M2) and M3 guns, and the M2 QCB gun, the first member of the machine gun family.
What features of the M2 heavy machine gun make the difference?
C. Utku Aral: It should be stated that the innovations and changes in the M2 heavy machine gun version of CANiK are more important than most of the ones made in the gun until today. Compared to other equivalents in the world, the gun developed by CANiK has twice the firing pin and barrel life.
M2; 12.7 mm (.50 caliber) is an aircooled, short-recoil, and belt-fed heavy machine gun. The gun’s weight is about 38 kilograms and it’s 165 cm. long, with a barrel length of 114.5 cm. It has a fire rate of 450-600 RPM, which is not very high for machine guns. However, its ability to effectively hit targets at a distance of 1,800 meters with its rounds with a muzzle velocity of 930 km/h makes the gun privileged and indispensable among machine guns. In addition to that, if it is used with an advanced fire control system, its effective range can increase from 2400 meters to 6000 meters.
What improvements did you make on the M2 in terms of durability?
C. Utku Aral: We should say that the innovations and changes in the M2 heavy machine gun version of CANiK are more important than most of the ones made in the gun until today. As a matter of fact, in order to meet the high qualification of the National Machine Gun Project, important material and design changes were made in the quick-change barrel. As a result of this, the barrel life has been extended far beyond the best models on the market. In parallel to this, materials used in the basic parts of the firing mechanism and the special processes applied to them not only increased the durability of the M2, but also enabled the firearm to be used with high performance for a very long time even in the most difficult operational conditions. Compared to other equivalents in the world, the said gun has twice the firing pin and barrel life.
How much do you predict to produce CANiK M2 in total annually? How much of this do you plan to export?
C. Utku Aral: Our production capacity for CANiK M2 QCB has been determined as a minimum of 1,500 units/year for 2022, and the infrastructure has been prepared accordingly. By the end of 2022, the capacity is planned to increase to 3000 units per year. As always, our export target in this project is at 90 percent.
How many countries in the world can produce their own anti-aircraft machine guns? How do you define your own mission as SYS?
There are 4 companies in the world that produce this firearm in NATO standards. On a country-by-country basis, we can say that the United States controls the market. Apart from this, there are many countries and companies that do not meet NATO standards but produce this firearm. Russia, Serbia and Kazakhstan have in the 12.7 x 108 mm machine gun, which is a competitor of NATO standards. We, as SYS, are involved in the competition as the 5th company in the world that produces this firearm in NATO standards. But even today we can say that we are the best in the world.
What kind of graph will we see in terms of sales and exports in 2022?
C. Utku Aral: We follow the US market closely in handguns. We will try to maintain our position in the market with RIVAL, which will be available in January 2022, and METE Pro, Signature Series, and models with Mecanik optics in the following months. We do not predict that the market, which was formed due to the events in 2020 and 2021, will continue in 2022. However, we are aware that our new world is always open to surprises. Even if there is a decline in pistol exports in 2022, we think that we will close this decline with our 12.7 machine gun.
Which geographies, which countries have an interest in CANiK M2? And, in this context, to whom will you export indigenousanti-aircraft guns in the coming period?
C. Utku Aral: As we mentioned above, we have orders from the Middle East and Africa. We foresee that the demand will increase as our shipments are realized. The difficulties in reaching this firearm today will also increase the demand for the firearms produced by our company. We anticipate that CANiK M2 QCB will be in greater demand than its counterparts, thanks to the quality of our product, its competitive pricing policy, and the accessory program that includes all the needs of the customer.
Who did you meet in Turkey about CANiK M2? In addition, when will the CANiK M2 be included in the Turkish Armed Forces’ inventory?
C. Utku Aral: We started to design and manufacture this firearm within the scope of the project initiated by the Defense Industry Presidency (SSB). Within the scope of this project, we will deliver 750 units of CANiK M2 QCB guns to the Presidency of Defense Industries, to be given to the forces. Additionally, our companies that produce armored vehicles, our shipyards and our companies that produce gun towers, are in constant communication with us in order to integrate our indigenousanti-aircraft machine gun, CANiK M2 QCB, produced by SYS, into their own projects, which they have produced with domestic facilities. The qualification works with the SSB is planned to be completed in 2021. Deliveries will begin upon completion of the qualification. We can say that 250 machine guns are ready and waiting for their barrels.
In which fairs will SYS bring CANiK M2 together with its stakeholders in the near future?
C. Utku Aral: The closest fair is SHOT SHOW to be held in the USA in January 2022. There, we will exhibit our CANiK M2 QCB gun as well as our handguns at SYS’ own stand. In addition, we will participate in more than 10 defense fairs in four continents of the world, in 2022.
What does indigenous mean in the defense industry? What advantages does the high rate of indigenous bring, both for the company and for the Turkish economy?
C. Utku Aral: Being indigenous and national; means that the design of the product belongs entirely to you and the sales permits are only at the initiative of the Turkish Ministry of National Defense. Our firearm, CANiK M2 QCB, is produced to be 100 percent indigenous, using maximum national technologies. We aim to achieve the high export momentum we achieved in handguns, in this gun as well. So, we, as SYS, will continue to contribute to our country’s economy in the next years, just as we did in the past. Since the said firearm is not subject to export restrictions, the exports of platform manufacturers will also be positively affected. In short, all stakeholders of our defense sector will afford advantage from this project.
You showcased the CANiK M2 at IDEF’21. How was the feedback received from local and foreigners at the fair? Could you briefly state this?
We attracted high attention. The biggest factor for this, is the international recognition of our CANiK branded semi-automatic handgun and the high trust in our gun. In short, the ‘brand’ capability we created also reflects positively on the perspective of our CANiK M2 QCB gun. Advance orders and proposal works for our CANiK M2 QCB firearm were carried out intensively at our booth with high participation. Today, we have orders from Kuwait, Iraq, Nigeria, Azerbaijan and Ghana. Considering the order we received from Turkey, we have a total of 1,500 orders. In other words, we have already sold our capacity for 2022.
When did the CANiK M2 QCB 12.7 mm heavy machine gun begin mass production? How much R&D expenses did you make in total for the start?
C. Utku Aral: The prototype production of the PMT 12.7 project, signed in January 2018, was made and tested in the second half of 2020. And the mass production started in the second quarter of 2021. While the total R&D expenditure since 2018 was 6 million USD including tests, it was 12.5 million USD with machinery investment.
How much efforts of R&D did you spend in total for the production of indigenous anti-aircraft machine gun? How many employees and how much time did they spend for this product?
C. Utku Aral: Our R&D team of 10 people carried out the design works of the product full-time for 2 years for this project. In addition to that, a process and quality team of 10 continued to work for the industrialization of designs. R&D, quality control, quality system, purchasing in addition to production planning, special processes (heat treatment, coating), in assembly units, a team of 80 people in total for indigenousanti-aircraft units has spent 2 years on this project and continues to work.
Can you briefly state the CANiK M2? How is the operation for this? In addition, are new versions of CANiK M2 on your agenda?
C. Utku Aral: CANiK M2 QCB machine gun; is a belt-fed, shortrecoil, air-cooled, left- or right-fed machine gun with singleshot and automatic-fire options, which can be controlled by the user or automatically in gun turrets. The CANiK M2 QCB stands out with its quick-change barrel feature, the ability to be integrated into air/land/naval vehicles and gun turrets, and the functionality that can be used on a tripod. After the design and illustration of the CANiK M2 QCB machine gun parts by the R&D department; each part was produced and controlled in a complex structure, such as determining the materials to be used, purchasing the materials by the purchasing department, and transferring them to production through production planning department. Our entire team has fulfilled and continues to fulfill its own responsibilities in an integrated manner, according to the defined workflow. I can give you the good news that we have started the design of the M2F (Fast M2) and M3 guns, and the M2 QCB gun, the first member of the machine gun family.
What features of the M2 heavy machine gun make the difference?
C. Utku Aral: It should be stated that the innovations and changes in the M2 heavy machine gun version of CANiK are more important than most of the ones made in the gun until today. Compared to other equivalents in the world, the gun developed by CANiK has twice the firing pin and barrel life.
M2; 12.7 mm (.50 caliber) is an aircooled, short-recoil, and belt-fed heavy machine gun. The gun’s weight is about 38 kilograms and it’s 165 cm. long, with a barrel length of 114.5 cm. It has a fire rate of 450-600 RPM, which is not very high for machine guns. However, its ability to effectively hit targets at a distance of 1,800 meters with its rounds with a muzzle velocity of 930 km/h makes the gun privileged and indispensable among machine guns. In addition to that, if it is used with an advanced fire control system, its effective range can increase from 2400 meters to 6000 meters.
What improvements did you make on the M2 in terms of durability?
C. Utku Aral: We should say that the innovations and changes in the M2 heavy machine gun version of CANiK are more important than most of the ones made in the gun until today. As a matter of fact, in order to meet the high qualification of the National Machine Gun Project, important material and design changes were made in the quick-change barrel. As a result of this, the barrel life has been extended far beyond the best models on the market. In parallel to this, materials used in the basic parts of the firing mechanism and the special processes applied to them not only increased the durability of the M2, but also enabled the firearm to be used with high performance for a very long time even in the most difficult operational conditions. Compared to other equivalents in the world, the said gun has twice the firing pin and barrel life.
How much do you predict to produce CANiK M2 in total annually? How much of this do you plan to export?
C. Utku Aral: Our production capacity for CANiK M2 QCB has been determined as a minimum of 1,500 units/year for 2022, and the infrastructure has been prepared accordingly. By the end of 2022, the capacity is planned to increase to 3000 units per year. As always, our export target in this project is at 90 percent.
How many countries in the world can produce their own anti-aircraft machine guns? How do you define your own mission as SYS?
There are 4 companies in the world that produce this firearm in NATO standards. On a country-by-country basis, we can say that the United States controls the market. Apart from this, there are many countries and companies that do not meet NATO standards but produce this firearm. Russia, Serbia and Kazakhstan have in the 12.7 x 108 mm machine gun, which is a competitor of NATO standards. We, as SYS, are involved in the competition as the 5th company in the world that produces this firearm in NATO standards. But even today we can say that we are the best in the world.
What kind of graph will we see in terms of sales and exports in 2022?
C. Utku Aral: We follow the US market closely in handguns. We will try to maintain our position in the market with RIVAL, which will be available in January 2022, and METE Pro, Signature Series, and models with Mecanik optics in the following months. We do not predict that the market, which was formed due to the events in 2020 and 2021, will continue in 2022. However, we are aware that our new world is always open to surprises. Even if there is a decline in pistol exports in 2022, we think that we will close this decline with our 12.7 machine gun.
Which geographies, which countries have an interest in CANiK M2? And, in this context, to whom will you export indigenousanti-aircraft guns in the coming period?
C. Utku Aral: As we mentioned above, we have orders from the Middle East and Africa. We foresee that the demand will increase as our shipments are realized. The difficulties in reaching this firearm today will also increase the demand for the firearms produced by our company. We anticipate that CANiK M2 QCB will be in greater demand than its counterparts, thanks to the quality of our product, its competitive pricing policy, and the accessory program that includes all the needs of the customer.
Who did you meet in Turkey about CANiK M2? In addition, when will the CANiK M2 be included in the Turkish Armed Forces’ inventory?
C. Utku Aral: We started to design and manufacture this firearm within the scope of the project initiated by the Defense Industry Presidency (SSB). Within the scope of this project, we will deliver 750 units of CANiK M2 QCB guns to the Presidency of Defense Industries, to be given to the forces. Additionally, our companies that produce armored vehicles, our shipyards and our companies that produce gun towers, are in constant communication with us in order to integrate our indigenousanti-aircraft machine gun, CANiK M2 QCB, produced by SYS, into their own projects, which they have produced with domestic facilities. The qualification works with the SSB is planned to be completed in 2021. Deliveries will begin upon completion of the qualification. We can say that 250 machine guns are ready and waiting for their barrels.
In which fairs will SYS bring CANiK M2 together with its stakeholders in the near future?
C. Utku Aral: The closest fair is SHOT SHOW to be held in the USA in January 2022. There, we will exhibit our CANiK M2 QCB gun as well as our handguns at SYS’ own stand. In addition, we will participate in more than 10 defense fairs in four continents of the world, in 2022.
What does indigenous mean in the defense industry? What advantages does the high rate of indigenous bring, both for the company and for the Turkish economy?
C. Utku Aral: Being indigenous and national; means that the design of the product belongs entirely to you and the sales permits are only at the initiative of the Turkish Ministry of National Defense. Our firearm, CANiK M2 QCB, is produced to be 100 percent indigenous, using maximum national technologies. We aim to achieve the high export momentum we achieved in handguns, in this gun as well. So, we, as SYS, will continue to contribute to our country’s economy in the next years, just as we did in the past. Since the said firearm is not subject to export restrictions, the exports of platform manufacturers will also be positively affected. In short, all stakeholders of our defense sector will afford advantage from this project.
You showcased the CANiK M2 at IDEF’21. How was the feedback received from local and foreigners at the fair? Could you briefly state this?
We attracted high attention. The biggest factor for this, is the international recognition of our CANiK branded semi-automatic handgun and the high trust in our gun. In short, the ‘brand’ capability we created also reflects positively on the perspective of our CANiK M2 QCB gun. Advance orders and proposal works for our CANiK M2 QCB firearm were carried out intensively at our booth with high participation. Today, we have orders from Kuwait, Iraq, Nigeria, Azerbaijan and Ghana. Considering the order we received from Turkey, we have a total of 1,500 orders. In other words, we have already sold our capacity for 2022.
