The first tangible product of LBA, the joint venture between Leonardo and Baykar, has emerged at the Farnborough International 2026 airshow in the United Kingdom. Displayed on the Leonardo stand with indigenous munitions, the Bayraktar TB3 – which will be produced in Italy – has been named "Astore Levante."
Italian Name, Turkish Engineering
"Astore" translates to "hawk" in Italian, while "Levante" refers to the eastern Mediterranean. The naming signifies both the platform's Italian identity and its operational focus on the Mediterranean theatre.
The local production of the TB3 in Italy marks an industrial expansion of the collaboration between Leonardo and Baykar, which had previously been initiated under the K-SWARM programme. In May, the two companies successfully demonstrated autonomous formation flight and crewed/uncrewed teaming capabilities between the Leonardo M-346 and KIZILELMA during tests conducted in Çorlu.
Full Indigenous Munitions Suite on Leonardo Stand
Alongside the Astore Levante, the Leonardo stand also featured Baykar's Kemankeş mini smart cruise missile, as well as ROKETSAN's MAM-series smart munitions, the Cirit laser-guided missile, and the supersonic missile İHA-122.
This comprehensive munitions suite indicates that LBA is positioning the platform not merely as an aerial vehicle, but as an end-to-end indigenous weapons system.
From precision-guided smart munitions such as MAM-L and MAM-T, to Cirit's laser-guidance capability, the supersonic speed advantage of İHA-122, and Kemankeş's cruise missile capabilities – a broad spectrum addressing various operational needs – suggests that the Astore Levante is being offered to Italian customers as an integrated solution.
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