Baykar’s Piaggio Aerospace to manufacture drones for European market

Piaggio Aerospace will begin producing military drones for the European market following its acquisition by Türkiye’s Baykar, Italian Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso confirmed during a visit to the company’s facility in Villanova d’Albenga.

Piaggio Aerospace expands operations to drone production for EU market

Urso stated that Baykar’s acquisition of Piaggio Aerospace has received approval from labor unions, as the company has committed to maintaining the core business, including maintenance and component production, while also expanding into drone manufacturing.

“The company has assured that it will not only preserve Piaggio Aerospace’s historical operations but will also develop a new production line for military drones targeting the European market,” Urso said.

On Feb.14, Chairman & CTO of Türkiye’s Baykar, Selcuk Bayraktar shared images from his visit to the Piaggio Aerospace’s facility in Italy on social media platform X and said, “We had a productive exchange of views with H.E. Adolfo Urso, Minister of Made in Italy, on Piaggio Aerospace’s civil aviation projects.”

‘Important new partnership between Italy and Türkiye’

In a social media post he posted on X, Urso said, “Thanks to the industrial, financial, and technological commitments guaranteed by Baykar, we can finally say that Piaggio Aerospace will have a solid future.”

“The new ownership will maintain and develop the company’s assets and core activities, preserving the business branches and supply chain of components in the territory. Not only that, new perspectives are also opening up in the creation of drones for the European market with the development of a project whose debut was planned 10 years ago. An important result made possible also thanks to the close collaboration between the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, the extraordinary commissioners, the Liguria Region, and the trade unions,” Urso added.

“A joint effort that has allowed us to transform another industrial crisis into a great opportunity, with a clear strategic vision that opens up an important new partnership between Italy and Türkiye,” Urso concluded.

EU to exclude defense investments from Stability Pact calculations

The announcement comes as the European Union moves to exclude defense investments from the Stability and Growth Pact calculations, a long-standing request by the Italian government.

“This is positive news as it allows Italy and other EU countries to invest more effectively in the defense of our continent,” Urso stated, highlighting the strategic importance of the new drone production initiative.