Turkiye and Italy have made significant progress on the joint K-SWARM project, which aims to develop crewed-uncrewed teaming (CUC-T) technology for the battlefield, including swarm control capabilities.
In a joint press release dated 22 June, Italian company Leonardo and Turkish company Baykar Defense announced the successful completion of the first phase of the project.
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The tests, conducted in May at one of Baykar's flight test centres, involved two crewed aircraft, one M-346FA light combat aircraft belonging to Leonardo directly, and one T-346A trainer of the Italian Air Force, alongside one Kizilelma unmanned fighter.
During the trials, the Turkish Kizilelma successfully joined formation with the Italian aircraft after take-off, with the crews of the crewed aircraft subsequently taking control of the unmanned fighter, which, it will be recalled, is fitted with the Ukrainian AI-322F engine, though Turkiye plans to eventually install domestically developed powerplants.
Using Smart Fleet Autonomy algorithms, the unmanned aircraft successfully executed basic commands from the crewed aircraft crews, including manoeuvres and position changes. These tests represent an important milestone for the K-SWARM programme, as the data gathered will form the basis for determining the next steps of the programme.
Defense Express notes that Turkiye is actively developing its Bayraktar drone series, and regarding the Kizilelma specifically, this unmanned fighter made history last autumn when two prototypes flew autonomously in formation with AI support.
The CUC-T concept, more commonly referred to as MUM-T (Manned-Unmanned Teaming), follows current trends that are being actively pursued in sixth-generation fighter programmes. These envision not only the aircraft itself but also so-called loyal wingman drones controlled from crewed platforms, combined with a battle cloud that ties all these technologies together.
On the M-346 aircraft: it is worth recalling that while this aircraft has russian roots, Italy had a joint project with russia in the 1990s to develop a trainer-combat aircraft, which collapsed in the 2000s following disputes, after which each country went its own way, this historical fact carries no practical significance today.
That said, the matter was actively raised in the United Kingdom when selecting a replacement for the Hawk T1 used by the Red Arrows aerobatic team, with objections that the team should not fly aircraft with russian origins, despite the collaboration having taken place over a quarter of a century ago.
Defense Express previously reported that the Kizilelma unmanned fighter from Baykar, powered by a Ukrainian engine, has received its first export customer Indonesia.
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