Leonardo and Baykar complete first K‑SWARM live flight trials

Leonardo and Turkish aerospace firm Baykar finished the first live flight trials of the K‑SWARM programme, demonstrating crewed‑uncrewed teaming (CUC‑T). The tests were carried out at Baykar’s flight and test centre in Çorlu and involved a Leonardo M‑346 fighter‑trainer and the Bayraktar KIZILELMA unmanned fighter. The unmanned aircraft autonomously performed taxi, take‑off, formation joining, maneuvering and coordinated flight alongside the M‑346, with pilots able to issue high‑level commands while the AI‑driven swarm algorithms handled detailed flight control.

Leonardo supplied the command‑and‑control architecture and secure communications, using its Global Cybersecurity Center platform to provide encrypted data links between the two aircraft. The successful integration validates advanced autonomy, AI‑based formation‑flight software and secure data sharing, and paves the way for the next phase of K‑SWARM, which will focus on more complex operational scenarios and broader crewed‑uncrewed combat concepts.