Leonardo and Turkish unmanned systems manufacturer Baykar have completed the first phase of live flight trials under the K-SWARM programme, successfully demonstrating crewed/uncrewed teaming between Leonardo’s M-346 Fighter Attack aircraft and the Bayraktar KIZILELMA uncrewed fighter – a milestone that marks the transition from simulation-based development to live operational validation. The trials, conducted in May at Baykar’s flight and test centre in Çorlu, Türkiye, involved a Leonardo-owned M-346 Fighter Attack variant supported by an Italian Air Force T-346A chase aircraft, operating alongside the KIZILELMA in a series of autonomous formation flights. Test missions assessed next-generation collaborative algorithms developed at Leonardo’s…
