Baykar considers partnership with Italy's Leonardo after acquiring Piaggio

Turkish UCAV producer Baykar technologies continues to expand its footprint in Europe. Turkish unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) producer Baykar might forge cooperation with Italian defence giant Leonardo following its recent acquisition of Piaggio Aerospace. "The sale of Piaggio Aerospace to Turkish Baykar allows the relaunch of a strategic company and allows us to outline a broader technological and industrial partnership between Italy and Türkiye, which will also have significant developments in other projects of great interest for our country,” Italian minister of enterprises and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso said on Thursday at question time in the Senate. "In this context of strengthening industrial relations between Italy and Türkiye, we are studying further alliances with companies in the sector such as Leonardo to strengthen our aerospace sector and our leadership in the EU," he added. Last month, Baykar announced the acquisition of Piaggio Aerospace, Italy's long-established aerospace company, founded in 1884. Aerospace and defence giant Leonardo is the 13th-largest defence company in the world and the second-largest in Europe, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.