Italian electronics giant Leonardo has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar to establish a joint venture aimed at advancing AI drone technology.
Based in Italy, the venture will combine Baykar’s drone designs with Leonardo’s expertise in mission systems, payloads, and certification, also providing maintenance services. Over the next decade, the European drone market is expected to reach $100 billion, bolstered by the use of drones in the Ukraine conflict.
Both companies are leaders in drone technology, electronic systems, AI, payloads, and C4I (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence), and the collaboration will ensure interoperability between their systems. The venture will utilize Leonardo’s facilities in Ronchi dei Legionari, Friuli, for drone production, Torino and Roma Tiburtina for integrated technology development, and Nerviano in Lombardy for space sector joint systems.
Roberto Cingolani, CEO of Leonardo, emphasized the strategic importance of the partnership. “This collaboration with Baykar creates a new leader in unmanned systems, which will be pivotal to the future of defense,” he said. “Technological cooperation is crucial to accelerating progress in unmanned systems, AI, and other defense technologies, ensuring global security.”
Baykar’s Chairman and CTO, Selçuk Bayraktar, highlighted the significance of the partnership. “Leonardo’s expertise in AI and C4I systems will enhance our innovation in unmanned aviation. This collaboration will push the boundaries of AI-driven technologies, creating next-generation unmanned aerial systems that will lead the future of air dominance.”
The joint venture positions both companies to become key players in the expanding unmanned systems market, with an eye on future technological developments in defense and security.
