# NATO and IP4 Advance Ankara Defence Cooperation

At the July 2026 Ankara Summit, NATO and the Indo-Pacific Four—Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea—reaffirmed defence-industrial cooperation, but activity remains organized through bilateral channels without shared planning or a joint delivery mechanism. NATO’s industry-strategy implementation plan is due in October 2026. For contractors, the identified areas for potential cooperation include supply-chain resilience, munitions, land systems, uncrewed aircraft systems, space, standards, and NATO-supported acquisitions; the signal identifies no open solicitation, contract value, or procurement contact.

- Companies should use the October 2026 implementation plan, when available, to assess whether it creates specific procurement pathways or shared priorities in the identified capability areas.
- Australia’s ability to join acquisitions run by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), alongside examples involving Australian land and naval programs, provides relevant context for firms considering cross-national acquisition opportunities.
- Because the cooperation currently lacks shared planning and a joint delivery mechanism, contractors should distinguish established bilateral programs from prospective multilateral opportunities; no active solicitation is identified.

**Jurisdictions:** international
**Industries:** Defense & Military
**Topics:** Contracting Vehicles
**Published:** October 13, 2026

### Government Entities
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
- NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA)
- Defence Industrial Production Board
- Australian Army

### Vendors
- Hanwha Group (Manufacturer of Redback infantry fighting vehicles for the Australian Army)
- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Supplier for Australia's Mogami frigate programme)
- Hanwha Ocean (Bidder for Australia's frigate programme)
- Hyundai Heavy Industries (Bidder for Australia's frigate programme)

### Sources
- [NATO-IP4 Defence Industrial Cooperation: Signals from the Ankara Summit  – NAOC](https://natoassociation.ca/nato-ip4-defence-industrial-cooperation-signals-from-the-ankara-summit) - NATO Association