Leonardo: drone joint venture governance finalised; Basile appointed CEO and headquarters in Albenga

The Chairman is Baykar’s CEO, Haluk Bayraktar

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - The governance structure of the drone joint venture between Leonardo and the Turkish firm Baykar has been finalised. The company, in which the two defence groups each hold a 50 per cent stake, as announced at the Farnborough International Airshow, became operational a few weeks ago and is expected to launch the first aircraft resulting from the partnership by the end of the year.

Leonardo Baykar Aerospace Systems – the name of the joint venture – is based in Villanova d’Albenga – where the headquarters of the former Piaggio Aero, now Baykar Aerospace, are already located – and has a six-member board of directors. The chairman, appointed by Baykar, is Haluk Bayraktar (CEO of the Turkish group), whilst the chief executive, appointed by Leonardo, is managing director Giovanni Basile. The board is completed by Angelo Pansini and Luca Picollo from the Italian aerospace group, and Pelin Birol and Bariç Eren Perk from Baykar. Lba Systems’ articles of association provide for balanced representation of the two shareholders on the corporate bodies, based on a three-year rotation of roles: one shareholder appoints the chairman and the standing auditors; the other appoints the chief executive and the chairman of the board of statutory auditors.

According to the information presented in the UK, the joint venture’s first remotely piloted aircraft will be the Astore Levante model, assembled in Ronchi dei Legionari and based on the Bayraktar TB3 platform, which is due to be delivered to the Italian Air Force this year. The supply forms part of a programme worth over 70 million euros, approved at the end of 2023, which provides for four unmanned aircraft as well as two control stations, training, munitions and spare parts. Under Leonardo’s current business plan, the drone partnership with Baykar is expected to contribute around €600 million to the group’s cumulative revenue by 2029.

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