Turkish Firm Picks Florida For New Small-Arms Factory

Turkish defense firm Samsun Yurt Savunma (SYS) has announced plans to open a new weapons factory in the U.S., reports the Daily Sabah (Istanbul).

The factory in Florida will produce CANiK brand light weapons.

Construction is scheduled to conclude in February 2023 with all machinery to be installed in March. Production is slated to begin in the second quarter of 2023.

Production capacity will begin at 8,000 units per month and gradually increase to 15,000 during 2023, said SYS officials.

The factory will import its raw materials from Turkey while producing only micro-compact products, due to import restrictions, the officials said.

The new facility will better position the firm to compete for U.S. arms contracts. The company lost a competition for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 2018 because it did not have a U.S.-based production facility.