Baghdad: Turkish defense and aerospace company Baykar and Italian company Leonardo announced the successful completion of the first joint live test between the Bayraktar Kizil Elma drone and the Italian M-346 manned combat aircraft, as part of the K-Swarm program.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, in a joint statement, the companies said they had successfully completed the first phase of live tests for the program, which aims to develop concepts and tactics for joint operations between manned and unmanned aircraft. They added that the Leonardo M-346 and the Baykar Kizil Elma drone performed a series of autonomous formation flight operations. During these flights, the ability of the two platforms to cooperate and coordinate using advanced, next-generation algorithms was evaluated.

Engineers and test pilots from both companies confirmed that the transition from a simulation environment to actual flight tests represents a major milestone in the program, and that the tests demonstrated the effectiveness of the developed technologies and solutions for supporting future air combat systems, as well as contributing to the development of current fighter aircraft capabilities.

The tests were conducted last May at Baykar’s Flight and Test Center in Tekirdag, northwestern Turkey. The tests involved Leonardo’s M-346 attack aircraft, the Italian Air Force’s T-346A (which performed aerial surveillance), and the Turkish Bayraktar Kizil Elma attack drone. The tests aimed to evaluate new algorithms, tactics, and procedures developed by Leonardo’s Innovation Labs for Flight and Control Systems in Turin, Italy. These technologies were integrated with the M-346 full-scale simulator in Venegono, Italy.

Baykar integrated its intelligent squadron autonomy capabilities, developed using its advanced software and hardware architecture, into its CUC-T algorithms. The advanced autonomous capabilities of the Kizil Elma drone contributed to accelerating the systems integration process, according to the two companies. The tests demonstrated the two aircraft’s ability to perform joint missions within a single air formation, achieving advanced levels of coordination between the two high-performance aerial platforms.

In their joint statement, the companies indicated that during the flight operations, data exchanged between the two aircraft was synchronized via a sophisticated radio frequency-based system. The Leonardo GCC tactical platform protected and monitored communications in real time, enabling command and control operations during flight. The Bayraktar Kizil Elma took off fully autonomously before independently joining the M-346 using Baykar’s intelligent autonomy algorithms. After the two aircraft joined the formation, the manned pilots assumed full control of the joint flight path.

Thanks to the integrated avionics system, the pilots of the M-346 were able to issue orders to perform various formations and maneuvers, and the Kizil Elma carried out the orders fully autonomously through a special system for managing joint tasks between manned and unmanned aircraft. The orders included changing positions, separating from the formation, and rejoining it. The two companies confirmed that the tests were the culmination of months of collaborative work between engineering teams and test pilots. This work included integrating systems, developing test scenarios, verifying algorithms, and ensuring that the flights were conducted in accordance with safety and efficiency standards.