Italy’s Leonardo and Turkey’s Baykar ink agreement for UAV joint venture
The JV is looking to tap into growing demand from the European drone market valued in excess of $100 billion over the next decade and will include production out of Italy and Turkey, Roberto Cingolani, CEO at Leonardo, told media in Rome.
Italy’s Leonardo and Turkey’s Baykar have signed a MoU ahead of developing a UAV joint venture (Leonardo)
BELFAST — Italian manufacturer Leonardo and Turkish prime Baykar signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today in advance of establishing an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) technologies joint venture (JV) together, bidding to take advantage of increasing European market demand.
The JV will leverage manufacturing capabilities of both companies across design, development, maintenance and production of drones, with Leonardo’s contribution predominately focused on payloads and mission systems, complemented by Baykar’s wide ranging aircraft portfolio which includes TB2, Akinci, and Kizilelma types, according to a Leonardo statement.
The JV is looking to tap into growing demand from the European drone market, valued in excess of $100 billion over the next decade, and will include production out of Italy and Turkey, Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani told media in Rome.
He suggested that despite those involved in the Italian, Japanese and UK-led Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) sixth-generation fighter effort still to decide on an adjunct or loyal wingman aircraft, putting forward a wingman “could be an opportunity” long term for the JV. Baykar’s Kizilelma unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) sits as an obvious candidate for consideration.
Cingolani added, “The three members of GCAP are committed to develop the [multinational] platform, and we are all looking around to see what is the best choice for the software, for the AI, for the adjunct, so we are exploring. We’ll see what happens in the market.”
Baykar announced flight tests of a third production representative Kizilelma aircraft in September 2024, and it has since completed an aerodynamic system identification test. The self-funded aircraft program was first launched by the manufacturer in 2021, and according to company literature, will become a “force to be reckoned with, specifically given its aggressive maneuvering capability and stealthiness against radar.”
Cingolani said that Akinci will be the first aircraft to be developed by the JV, and “prototyping” will take shape “one year from now,” strengthening existing collaboration with Baykar that has already seen Leonardo integrate company payloads on the aircraft.
The long endurance UCAV was developed as a successor to the TB2 tactical UAV, which saw success in the early stages of the Ukraine war. In service with the Turkish armed forces, Baykar has signed 11 Akinci export agreements, according to the company.
“I hope the Italian defense system will buy drones coming from the joint venture” but to only rely on that prospect alone would be “very short sighted,” said Cingolani.
He added that the projected $100-billion European drone market, “clearly goes beyond the national interest.”
For Baykar, the JV represents an additional push into the European market and comes on the heels of its acquisition of Italy’s Piaggio Aerospace.
