Mission Ok-SWARM noticed a Kizilelma UCAV working in a Crewed/UnCrewed Teaming state of affairs, responding to a sequence of instructions despatched from the M-346.
The Turkish-Italian collaboration over manufacturing Baykar’s unmanned fight aerial automobiles (UCAV) at Leonardo’s amenities for the European market with native mission techniques and certifications has taken a serious leap ahead. The M-346 coach plane and the Kizilelma carried out the primary collaborative Crewed/UnCrewed Teaming (CUC-T) check in what Leonardo known as the Ok-SWARM sequence of “joint autonomous formation flights,” held in Might at Baykar’s Çorlu check flight middle.
A Jun. 22, 2026, joint assertion by Leonardo and Baykar mentioned the “autonomous formation flights” validated the engineering, software program, {hardware} developed for autonomous fight. This check marketing campaign has now laid the muse for refining the operational, conceptual, industrial, logistical and doctrinal processes when the techniques are mass produced for fight use.
The primary of a trial marketing campaign which can proceed within the coming months, the check flight noticed a Kizelelma prototype with Turkish flight autonomy {hardware} and software program built-in with Italian unmanned management codes. Two Leonardo M-346s, a company-owned M-346FA (Fighter Assault) variant and an Italian Air Pressure (Aeronautica Militare – ItAF) T-346A performing as a chase plane, took half within the Ok-SWARM trials with the only Kizilelma, Leonardo’s launch mentioned.
🔴#LDO_PR #Leonardo and @BaykarTech set a serious milestone for superior Crewed/UnCrrewed functionality growth with profitable first Ok-SWARM stay trials. pic.twitter.com/uomPsBc46N
— Leonardo (@Leonardo_live) June 22, 2026
The Synthetic Intelligence (AI)-enabled Kizilelma took off and joined the M-346 formations autonomously, earlier than being managed and commanded by the M-346FA crew in a sequence of formation maneuvers.
Methods, {hardware} and software program developed
The check flight was preceded by months of preparatory work and testing actions of different associated techniques that figured in each the bottom testing and first flight trial. Groups had developed a radio frequency-based Leonardo GCC Tactical Platform knowledge hyperlink that synchronized and fused all the information between the Kizilelma and M-346s that was employed within the flight.
Newest era algorithms and related ways and procedures developed by Leonardo at its Avionic Flight Management Innovation Labs and the Product Functionality and Idea Laboratory (PC2LAB) in Turin had been put to make use of. Parallely, Baykar built-in its “superior good fleet autonomy capabilities into the CUC-T algorithms.”
“Kizilelma’s superior autonomy capabilities enormously simplified the mixing course of, permitting for seamless implementation and speedy deployment,” Leonardo’s launch added.
SICAK GELİŞME | İTALYA VE TÜRKİYE’DEN STRATEJİK HAMLE!
Ok-SWARM programı kapsamında, Bayraktar KIZILELMA İnsansız Savaş Uçağı ile Leonardo M-346 uçakları Çorlu’da ilk kez ortak otonom formasyon uçuşu gerçekleştirdi.
İnsanlı ve insansız platformların koordinasyonunu sağlayan… pic.twitter.com/1xlttDQTaZ
— SavunmaSanayiST.com (@SavunmaSanayiST) June 22, 2026
These had been first examined with an M-346 Full Mission Simulator primarily based at Venegono, Italy. The discharge’s framing suggests the simulator was used to simulate and choreograph the CUC-T command tasking, formation flights and check the varied autonomous flight, knowledge linking and networking algorithms developed by Baykar and Leonardo.
The Leonardo launch additional defined that “these had been introduced into motion through the M-346/KIZILELMA formation flights, supporting the validation of superior collaboration and coordination of various excessive efficiency fight platforms and air techniques, because the programme marked the transition from simulation to stay operations.”
M-346 and Kizilelma teaming check flight
The ultimate flight marketing campaign noticed the Kizilelma taxing and taking off autonomously, after which becoming a member of the M-346FA in a formation flight, enabled by Baykar’s Good Fleet Autonomy algorithms. The SFA manned-unmanned autonomous flight code is developed by the Baykar’s {Hardware}-in-the-Loop (HIL) Laboratory that allowed the M-346 “to subsequently assume full management of the unmanned plane.”
Çorlu’daki Ok-SWARM canlı uçuş testlerinde, iki adet M-346 uçağı ile Bayraktar KIZILELMA insanlı/insansız kollaboratif yeteneklerini (CUC-T) başarıyla sergiledi.
Otonom kalkış yapan KIZILELMA, havada entegre aviyonik süit ve akıllı filo otonomisi algoritmalarıyla M-346… pic.twitter.com/t40691rTZC
— SavunmaSanayiST.com (@SavunmaSanayiST) June 22, 2026
The M-346FA pilots employed a “absolutely built-in onboard avionic suite” and a “devoted crewed/uncrewed computing system” to command the Kizilelma into “totally different formations,” which the Turkish plane “autonomously executed.”
“Completely different maneuvers and formations, together with place adjustments, separations and rejoins had been efficiently examined with the Kizilelma precisely responding to the M-346 instructions,” Leonardo’s launch additional mentioned.
Know-how effort and future
Leonardo mentioned the Çorlu flight check was preceded by months of in depth and intense preparation work, which noticed the involvement of pilots and technicians from each corporations. With the required degree of technical integration of the techniques, and algorithms validation making certain secure and efficient exams, the following stage will analyze the information gathered through the Ok-SWARM programme.
Bayraktar #KIZILELMA✈️🚀🍎
✅ Take a look at Flight with KARAT IRST#Baykar 🤝 @Aselsan#NationalTechnologyInitiative 🌍🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/aB4FVm0wSA
— BAYKAR (@BaykarTech) April 3, 2026
Within the coming months, the Ok-SWARM will progress “into extra advanced operations [and] extra features […] requiring higher situational consciousness and property working collectively ‘as one’ in the direction of mission goals.” The AI know-how and algorithms will now “incrementally shift from distant piloting to autonomy” to in the end “cut back pilot workload […] whereas sustaining full management and decision-making.”
Leonardo’s press launch concluded that “the primary section of trials demonstrates the strong partnership between Leonardo and Baykar, and their respective know-how and industrial competences.” The corporate added that this “confirms the businesses’ aggressive benefit within the area and represents a concrete step in the direction of the event of crucial capabilities for contemporary fight air operations in multidomain operational situations.”
