Leonardo and Baykar launch new UAS company in Italy

Italian aerospace and defense company Leonardo and Turkish defense tech company Baykar Technologies have established a joint venture dedicated to the development of unmanned technologies. 

The companies had already signed a corresponding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Rome at the beginning of March 2025.

Leonardo and Baykar will be equal shareholders (50% each) in the new company, named LBA Systems, which will have its legal and operational headquarters in Italy. The new agreement was signed at the International Paris Airshow in Le Bourget.

“We firmly believe that technological cooperation is a powerful means to address the unprecedented challenges facing the defense sector. Integrating Leonardo’s experience in certification and integrated multi-domain technologies with Baykar’s world-class unmanned platforms can truly provide a meaningful boost in seizing opportunities both across Europe and on the global stage,” Roberto Cingolani, CEO of Leonardo, said.

“This partnership with Leonardo—a company with world-class expertise in C4I systems and complementary capabilities in aviation—is more than a collaboration; it’s a catalyst for what’s next,” Selçuk Bayraktar, Chairman and CTO of Baykar Technologies, commented.

Bayraktar added that the firms are working together to build a new generation of unmanned systems that would be not only intelligent and mission-ready but also designed with ethics and interoperability at their core. He also noted that, in a world of growing complexity, the alliance aims to deliver the AI-driven global security that the future would require.

Specifically, Baykar will focus on the design and development of advanced unmanned platforms. Meanwhile, Leonardo will provide electronic systems and payloads, implement manned-unmanned teaming and swarming capabilities, and be involved in qualification and certification activities.

The companies have also agreed to explore additional areas of collaboration: from commercial cooperation involving Baykar and Leonardo platforms to joint initiatives within multi-domain digital ecosystems.

To remind, Baykar recently marked a milestone with its uncrewed combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) Bayraktar TB3, Turkey’s domestically manufactured UCAV. The drone completed 100 successful sorties during ongoing test operations on the TCG Anadolu, which combines the characteristics of a landing helicopter dock and an aircraft carrier. The vessel entered service in April 2023.