The CEO of the Italian company Leonardo, Roberto Cingolani, visited Turkey earlier this week, specifically at the Baykar factory, where he inspected the production facilities for unmanned aerial vehicles, primarily the legendary Bayraktar TB2. As of today, it is known that the Italian Leonardo and Turkish Baykar are discussing the establishment of a joint venture, within which the integration of Italian company products into Turkish drones will take place.
"There was significant interest in seeking synergistic effects," an anonymous source from Leonardo told Defense News. According to the representative of the Italian company, this concerns technologies that could ultimately provide "commercial synergy" for both companies "as was the case with Leonardo's collaboration with Rheinmetall" - it should be noted that earlier this week, the formation of an alliance between Rheinmetall and Leonardo received the green light from Germany.
Considering that the discussions are still in preliminary stages, details of the future cooperation are currently unknown. However, the publication emphasizes that Leonardo also has experience in drone manufacturing, particularly referring to the tactical medium-altitude drone type Falco, whose first flight took place back in 2003.
The Falco EVO version drone has a weight of 650 kg, a height of 2.5 m, a length of 6.2 m, and a wingspan of 12.5 m. Its flight duration exceeds 20 hours, with a ceiling of 6000 m, and it can carry a payload of 100 kg. Last year, it was reported that in the Falco Xplorer version, this drone was armed with Brimstone missiles.
Additionally, Leonardo has experience in onboard electronics and sensors, which are the main subjects of discussions between the Italians and Turks. This primarily includes the Gabbiano radar, designed "to meet the needs of patrolling and surveillance in all weather conditions, both on land and at sea." This radar is expected to be installed on the Eurodrone unmanned aerial vehicle, which Italy is developing in collaboration with Spain, France, and Germany.
Earlier, Defense Express reported that Turkish Baykar received the "green light" for the purchase of the long-standing Italian aircraft manufacturer - referring to the company Piaggio Aerospace.