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Reasons behind Italy's interest in Turkish drones

According to a Turkish source, Meloni's primary interest in acquiring drones was for surveillance purposes in order to combat illegal immigration. The source said that Erdoğan reportedly requested Italian cooperation in the joint production of the SAMP/T air defense system in exchange for the Turkish drones.

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Federico Borsari of the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) seperately suggested that Italy is seeking to increase its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, and Turkish drones could potentially be a good solution, although there may be potential drawbacks to consider, such as required time for training and integration with Italian command and control structures.