The partnership agreement between the Italian defense giant Leonardo and the Turkish unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) producer Baykar will help develop the entire aviation warfare systems of the future.
Speaking after the signing ceremony in the capital, Rome, Baykar's Chairman Selçuk Bayraktar told Anadolu that Leonardo also has a great infrastructure to develop future technologies in other areas of the defense industry and unmanned systems, including radars, payloads, and sensors, as well as artificial intelligence.
He said Baykar is also the world's largest UAV developer and manufacturer.
"Baykar is a world-leading organization that earns more than 90% of all its revenues from exports by selling UAVs to 36 countries," he said.
Stating that Baykar has already integrated the radars produced by Leonardo into the systems, Bayraktar said: "But for the last four or five months, we have been working intensively on how we can cooperate. As of today, the letter of goodwill has been signed."
Regarding the objectives of the cooperation, Bayraktar said: "Of course, it covers the development of UAVs and related systems, especially in Europe, by combining complementary capabilities, from joint platform development to the development of platforms that we call light platforms, light smart platforms, and of course, work will be carried out on the unmanned fighter jet Kızılelma."
He said Baykar's combat UAV, Akinci, is at the forefront of the cooperation, but it is not limited to it.
"There is cooperation on all platforms, such as Bayraktar TB3, Bayraktar TB2, and Kızılelma, which will also be in this cooperation. And in addition to this, there will be cooperation on light platforms developed by Baykar, such as mini smart cruise missiles, different variants of mini intelligent cruise missiles, Kemankeş, and other light smart platforms."
Bayraktar said that the geostrategic tectonic fracture that the world has been exposed to is upsetting the balances all over the world in a sense, but Baykar's close defense cooperation with Europe will contribute to the world experiencing this rupture in a more balanced way.
Türkiye has already been the largest trading partner with Europe for many years, but such cooperation in the field of defense will strengthen the relations, he stressed.
He noted that Eastern Europe chose the Bayraktar TB2, and Poland was the sixth NATO country purchasing it.
"Now, with this alliance, it will be stacked all over Europe," he said.
He stated that this cooperation between Türkiye and Italy will form an important cornerstone, adding: "I think it is also very important in terms of cooperation between our countries in other areas of technology, because let us not just see this as a defense cooperation.
"In fact, this is a high-tech alliance, which, as you know, creates the greatest value in the world, and in a sense, it is the high-tech innovation that drags the whole world and transforms our lives."
He said this is the purpose of the march we call the national technology move, with which we are actually trying to drag along millions of young people.
"In a sense, to spread high technology in the world in a way that all those who need it can develop it themselves, in that sense, this alliance should be considered as an alliance of two technology institutions," he highlighted.
Regarding the location of the production centers, Bayraktar said: "Of course, these decisions are being made.
"As you know, we acquired Piaggio Aerospace in Italy, which has a serious production infrastructure, and it can also be a production center there."
Leonardo has more than 100 facilities in Italy alone, and they are spread across the world, while Baykar's facilities are a bit more concentrated in the form of campuses, he explained.
Answering a question about whether the Italian Navy is interested in the Bayraktar TB3 UAV, which can land and take off from short-runway ships due to its new multi-purpose amphibious ship Trieste, Bayraktar said: "I think it will be interested. Because Bayraktar TB3 is the first platform in the world that can land and take off from short-runway ships.
"And it will be a very big force multiplier when it starts its mission."
As of this year, Baykar aims to launch TB3 from the Turkish defense ship TCG Anadolu's short-runway ship, he said, adding that studies and mass production are currently underway.
"The land version is already rolling off the production line. On the other hand, we have already started the production of the naval version, and we aim to launch it this year," he said.
Reminded of the recent news in the press that the Italian army will purchase Baykar's UAVs, he said: "I cannot say anything since there is no official request yet."
Roberto Cingolani, executive director of Leonardo, told Anadolu that Leonardo expects from Baykar much more electronics, sensor technology, and especially AI and algorithm integration for the UAVs they produce.
These developments will enable the production of much more advanced UAVs, he said, adding that this will lead to the development of much more advanced UAVs, capable of performing different missions, in different sizes, small, large and very large vehicles.
It is critical that this process start as soon as possible because there is a very high demand for UAVs across Europe, but the supply is insufficient, he said.
He added that this could be an important opportunity to accelerate the supply in the European defense space.
