Baykar signs partnership agreement with Italian firm protested for selling arms to Israel

Baykar and the Italian company Leonardo have signed a partnership agreement in the field of unmanned technologies. At Leonardo's headquarters in Rome, Italy's capital, Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani, Baykar Chairman of the Board Selçuk Bayraktar, and Baykar General Manager Haluk Bayraktar signed the agreement for collaboration in unmanned technologies.

Cingolani, Selçuk Bayraktar, and Haluk Bayraktar later held a joint press conference at the Foreign Press Association in Rome.

Selçuk Bayraktar, who is also the son-in-law of AKP-affiliated President Erdoğan, stated: "We have been engaged in intensive discussions for months. We were already working with Leonardo. There are systems we have integrated. We were already collaborating. The chemistry and synergy have developed in a fascinating way in recent months."

It was announced that production will take place in both Turkey and Italy as part of the partnership between the two companies.

PROTESTED FOR ITS ARMS SALES TO ISRAEL

The Italian company Leonardo has been protested for its arms sales to Israel, which has killed tens of thousands of people in Gaza.

According to a report by Anadolu Agency on 2 November 2023, the pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action staged a protest in the UK against the Italian aerospace and defence company Leonardo, accusing it of supporting the Israeli army. Protesters threw red paint at the entrance of Leonardo’s headquarters in London.

Demonstrators painted the entrance of One Eagle Place, where Leonardo's London office is located, in red and wrote pro-Palestinian slogans on its walls. In a statement, Palestine Action said, "Leonardo sells parts for Apache helicopters and F-35 fighter jets that are bombing Gaza."

On the other hand, according to another report from Anadolu Agency’s English service on 13 November 2024, pro-Palestinian activists stormed Leonardo’s office in Turin, Italy in protest.

Citing statements from the protesters, Italy’s state news agency ANSA reported that the demonstration was carried out in response to Leonardo’s complicity in the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza by the illegitimate Israeli state.

A statement from the protest group claimed that, "Although the industrial group claims to primarily operate in the defence sector, Leonardo has continued to support the Israeli military for over a year through remote technical assistance, material repairs, and shipments of spare parts for Israeli Air Force training aircraft."

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Leonardo has supplied aircraft to Israel through its U.S. subsidiary and owns the Israeli radar company RADA.

Most recently, on 27 February, a protest was held in London against Leonardo.

Source: Baykar’dan İsrail'e silah sattığı için protesto edilen İtalyan firma ile işbirliği anlaşması