It was reported that the right-wing coalition government in Italy, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, approved the joint venture between the country’s leading defense industry company Leonardo and Baykar, which aims to produce unmanned aerial vehicle systems, which was launched last year.
According to the news of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, the council of ministers gave the green light to the 50 percent – 50 percent joint venture between Leonardo and the Turkish company Baykar for the design, development and production of unmanned aerial vehicles, with some conditions.
While the Council of Ministers approved the agreement for the joint venture of Leonardo and Baykar, the government in Italy; It was stated that it resorted to the “Golden Power”, which is a legal mechanism that allows controlling, vetoing or imposing special conditions on companies and investments in strategic sectors related to critical infrastructure such as defense, national security, energy, telecommunications and transportation, and stipulated that international development activities should be directed only to countries in line with NATO and the European Union (EU).
It was also stated that the confidentiality of confidential information and the technology used will need to be guaranteed.
In the news in Il Messaggero newspaper, it was stated that the Italian government gave the green light to a joint venture between Leonardo and Baykar for the production of UAVs and said, “The Council of Ministers yesterday approved the creation of a joint venture, 50 percent of which will be owned by Leonardo and 50 percent of which will be owned by the Turkish company Baykar, to produce ‘new generation remote-controlled air systems’, using its special powers under certain rules and conditions.” expressions were used.
While it was stated in the newspaper’s report that Defense Minister Guido Crosetto insisted on the green light, it was noted that the government imposed some restrictions with its “Golden Power” authority, and among these, the UAVs produced for the protection of “national strategic interests” and the continuity of the supply chain had to be directed only to countries “in line” with NATO and EU policies.
Leonardo and Baykar’s joint company named “LBA Systems” was announced in March 2025 and the agreement was signed in June 2025.
