Turkish Baykar may cooperate with Italian defense giant Leonardo after acquiring Piaggio

ISTANBUL

Turkish unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) producer Baykar might forge cooperation with Italian defense giant Leonardo following its recent acquisition of Piaggio Aerospace, the country’s minister of enterprises and Made in Italy said Thursday.

"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,” Adolfo Urso said 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 defense giant Leonardo is the 13th-largest defense company in the world and the second-largest in Europe, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.