Turkey’s globally recognized drone manufacturer Baykar has entered a strategic partnership with Leonardo, one of Europe’s largest defense and aerospace companies, to collaborate on next-generation unmanned technologies. The agreement, signed at Leonardo’s headquarters in Rome by CEO Roberto Cingolani, Baykar Chairman Selçuk Bayraktar, and Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar, marks a major milestone in defense industry cooperation between Turkey and Italy.

Cingolani described the signing as “a significant day for Europe’s defense future,” noting that the partnership is the culmination of five months of intensive technical coordination. The agreement spans five years but is expected to evolve into a long-term industrial collaboration that will encompass both joint development and production phases. “Europe faces a technological gap in unmanned systems,” Cingolani said, emphasizing that “Baykar’s innovation capacity perfectly complements Leonardo’s C4ISR, radar, and avionics expertise.”

The Italian CEO praised Baykar’s production facilities in Istanbul, calling them “world-class,” and lauded the company’s wide range of UAVs — from small tactical drones to heavy combat platforms like Bayraktar AKINCI and Bayraktar KIZILELMA, which he referred to as “a pilotless jet shaping the future of air combat.” Leonardo projects that the European unmanned systems market will exceed $100 billion in the next decade, driven by growing defense modernization needs.

Selçuk Bayraktar, in turn, highlighted that Baykar had already been working with Leonardo on integration and that the partnership now formalizes a strong “technological chemistry” that emerged between the two teams. He noted that Baykar’s UAVs are exported to 36 countries, generating 90% of the company’s revenue from exports, and stated, “Together with Leonardo’s technology, we can build the foundation of future air superiority.”

The agreement envisions joint production in both Turkey and Italy, a move designed to streamline European Union certification processes and strengthen Baykar’s presence in the European defense ecosystem. Cingolani emphasized, “Producing in an EU member state provides faster certification and greater interoperability within Europe’s defense market.”

Haluk Bayraktar detailed the partnership’s three focus areas: armed surveillance drones, loitering munitions, and future unmanned combat systems. He also confirmed that export decisions for jointly developed products will be made collaboratively: “Each country has its export rules, but we will now decide together on where and how to export — with full consultation and mutual approval.”

The partnership represents not only industrial cooperation but also a strategic response to Europe’s fragmented defense landscape. Cingolani stressed that no single European country can independently maintain technological leadership, calling the Baykar-Leonardo alliance “a real 50-50 industrial collaboration” based on clear division of labor rather than financial engineering.

For Turkey, this partnership symbolizes Baykar’s transformation from a regional manufacturer into a European-level defense partner, integrating its proven UAV platforms into Leonardo’s advanced systems network. With global demand for drones surging — especially after the Ukraine conflict — analysts expect this collaboration to quickly translate into new co-developed systems and expanded export markets.