Turkish Chief of General Staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu met US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine in the capital Ankara on the sidelines of a NATO summit.

Bayraktaroglu welcomed Caine with an official ceremony at the Turkish General Staff headquarters.

Following the playing of the national anthems of Türkiye and the US, Caine inspected the honour guard.

After the ceremony, Bayraktaroglu and Caine held closed-door talks.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed confidence that NATO’s summit in Türkiye will project “strength and unity” at a time of global tensions and conflicts.

“The NATO summit in Ankara is taking place in turbulent times, and in these times we need a strong and united NATO as a guarantor of our freedom and security,” Merz told reporters at Berlin’s airport before departing for Ankara.

Merz said European allies are prepared to shoulder more responsibility within the alliance by boosting defence spending and enhancing military capabilities, thereby strengthening the European pillar of NATO.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson welcomed NATO's decision to select the Saab GlobalEye as the alliance's next airborne early warning and control (AWACS) system.

During a joint news conference with Defence Minister Pal Jonson and Saab President and CEO Micael Johansson on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Kristersson said the military alliance has announced plans to begin negotiations with Swedish defence company Saab for the potential acquisition of up to 10 aircraft.

Türkiye signed agreements under the 2026 NATO Defence Industry Forum on several strategic capability areas to be developed jointly by member states, the head of the country’s Defence Industries Secretariat said.

Haluk Gorgun said on Turkish social media platform NSosyal that the agreements cover strike capabilities, integrated air and missile defence systems, space and surveillance capabilities, critical raw materials for the defence industry, and NATO’s unmanned aerial vehicle superiority.

“These projects, which will include Aselsan, Roketsan, STM and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TUBITAK), will form the backbone of the alliance's deterrence architecture in the coming years,” Gorgun said.

Turkish Air Force Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft will conduct 11 sorties over a 60-hour period to help secure the NATO Summit in Ankara, playing a key role in monitoring Turkish airspace.

Stationed at the 3rd Main Jet Base Command in Konya, the E-7T aircraft, known in Türkiye as the “Peace Eagle,” are equipped with multifunctional electronically scanned air and maritime radar capable of providing 360-degree surveillance and identifying multiple targets at ranges of up to 400 kilometres.

The aircraft transmits detected targets in real time to ground operations centres, as well as to aircraft and naval units operating in the field, enabling coordinated air defence operations.

Türkiye's Defence Minister Yasar Guler held separate meetings with Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Charles Woodburn, chief executive of BAE Systems, ahead of the 36th NATO summit in Ankara.

Guler met Koizumi at the ATO Congresium, where leaders and senior officials are gathering for the summit. He also received Woodburn as defence industry executives convened alongside the alliance's annual meeting.

Türkiye's National Defence Ministry did not disclose details of the discussions.

Australian Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said that Türkiye's expanding defence industry and increased government investment are creating new opportunities for cooperation between the two NATO allies.

"I think there are great opportunities for cooperation in the defence industry as well. The Turkish defence industry is growing. The Turkish government's putting lots of investment in there, and we're always open to working with NATO partners," Conroy told Anadolu on the sidelines of the NATO Defence Industry Forum (NSDIF26), held alongside the first day of the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit in Ankara.

Conroy praised Türkiye for hosting both the NATO Leaders' Summit and the defence industry forum, saying the parallel events come at a crucial moment for the alliance.