Italian Jets Fly with Turkish Drones in K-SWARM Live Trial
- Leonardo and Baykar conducted live K-SWARM trials during May, marking a transition from simulation to live operations for crewed-uncrewed teaming capabilities.
- The campaign involved a Leonardo M-346 Fighter Attack Variant and the Bayraktar KIZILELMA Uncrewed Fighter Aircraft, with the M-346 commanding formations autonomously executed by KIZILELMA using Smart Fleet Autonomy.
- Crewed-Uncrewed teaming is prioritized across NATO and allied air forces as central to future combat air systems, aligning with programs like the United States Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft.
- Leonardo's Avionic and Flight Control Innovation Labs and PC2LAB in Turin developed the algorithms, linked through an M-346 Full Mission Simulator in Venegono; Baykar utilized its Hardware-in-the-Loop Laboratory.
- Pairing the M-346 with the KIZILELMA offers a route to mature teaming concepts on affordable platforms before scaling to higher-end fighters or specialized craft like Turkey's TCG Anadolu.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Italian jets fly with Turkish drones in K-SWARM live trial
Leonardo and Baykar have completed the first phase of live testing for their K-SWARM programme, with Italian M-346 jets and the Turkish-built Bayraktar KIZILELMA uncrewed fighter aircraft flying joint autonomous formations over Turkey, the companies stated. The trials, conducted in May at one of Baykar’s flight and test centres in Çorlu, marked the transition of the K-SWARM effort from simulation to live operations. K-SWARM is aimed at designing…
In May 2026, above the Baykar test centre in Çorlu, an Italian pilot made from his cockpit something that remained so far confined to the simulators: he took control of a stealth combat drone and had him perform maneuvers in formation. Leonardo and Baykar announced the test on 22 March ... The article Leonardo and Baykar test the coupling M-346 / Kızılelma in flight appeared first on MENADEFENSE.
Leonardo M-346 commands Baykar Kizilelma drone in live trial
Leonardo and Baykar have completed the first live flight phase of their K-SWARM crewed-uncrewed teaming (CUC-T) program, with an Italian M-346 jet commanding a Bayraktar Kizilelma unmanned fighter through a series of autonomous formation maneuvers. The two companies announced the milestone on June 22, 2026, confirming the campaign took place in May 2026 at Baykar’s flight and test center in Çorlu, Turkey. The trials move K-SWARM, which is aim…
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