The EU and NATO member Italy has decided to acquire a Turkish carrier-based unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), becoming the first European customer for the variant.
Speaking before the Italian Senate’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee on 25 March, Chief of the Italian Navy, VAdm Berutti Bergotto, announced that Italy is poised to purchase Turkey’s TB-3 carrier-based unmanned aerial system (UAS) and operate it from its ITS Cavour aircraft carrier—a move that will significantly expand Italy’s carrier aviation.
“You know that this company has signed a cooperation agreement with Leonardo; therefore, the acquisition will be through Leonardo. It can be integrated on board the Cavour (aircraft carrier). This allows both surveillance and the possibility of carrying armament,” he was quoted as saying.
Italy could purchase the TB3 Bayraktar through LBA Systems, a strategic joint venture between Turkish drone maker Baykar, the world’s largest exporter of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), and Italian industry titan Leonardo.
Further, the navy chief emphasised that Italy plans to integrate a fixed-wing UCAV into its naval aviation component, alongside its current manned aviation assets and rotary-wing platforms.
With this, Italy will become only the second export customer for the TB3 drone and the first in Europe. Last year, Indonesia signed a deal with manufacturer Baykar to acquire about 60 Bayraktar TB3 drones and nine Akinci unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs).
The TB3 is designed for short takeoff from carriers such as Italy’s ITS Cavour, which has a ski-jump deck similar to that of Turkey’s designated TB-3 carrier, the TCG Anadolu.
The TB3 would give the Cavour a fixed-wing UCAV capability for long-endurance ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance), strike missions, and persistent maritime patrol at a time of an increasingly uncertain security situation in the Atlantic and beyond.
The drone would complement the F-35B stealth fighter jets and helicopters typically stationed aboard the carrier.
Though the Italian Navy chief specified that the drone would primarily be used for surveillance, its acquisition would give the service the option to deploy the TB-3 for high-risk or extended missions without endangering fighter pilots. This would essentially expand the carrier strike group’s reach, situational awareness, and ability to engage asymmetric threats at low risk and low cost.
The drone would provide continuous coverage over vast maritime areas. It would essentially act as a forward scout for the Carrier Strike Group, detecting surface threats or piracy, monitoring coastlines, and tracking targets in real time. This would extend the carrier’s sensor reach far beyond what helicopters or occasional F-35B sorties can achieve, improving early warning and decision-making in contested waters.
The acquisition builds on the existing Italy–Turkey defence ties and on the TB3’s performance, as demonstrated in multinational NATO exercises such as the “Steadfast Dart 2026.”
During these drills, the TB-3 participated in a joint exercise with Eurofighter aircraft, which Italy also operates. The UCAV remained in the air for approximately eight hours and travelled 1,700 kilometres while conducting cooperative sorties with the Typhoons. Turkey stated that the mission would serve as a test case for the future fighting paradigm, which calls for cooperation between manned and unmanned platforms.
Italy could deploy multiple TB3s simultaneously, saturating any region with sensors and weapons, at considerably lower risk and cost. Moreover, the TB-3 drones are compact, allowing them to be easily accommodated alongside F-35Bs and helicopters on the Cavour.
The acquisition of the TB-3 by Italy would accelerate its shift toward hybrid manned-unmanned fleets, aligning with broader trends in naval warfare, where drones handle attritable or high-volume tasks, while expensive manned jets are reserved for specialised combat operations.
Additionally, it underscores the rapid progress Turkey’s aviation industry has made in recent years. Before this, Ankara sold the Hürjet trainer jet to another NATO partner, Spain.
TB-3
The TB-3 drone produced by Baykar seems to have benefited from the operational and export success of the Bayraktar TB-2 drone, which has proven its combat efficacy on battlefields such as Nagorno-Karabakh, the Ukraine War, and multiple zones in Africa.
The Bayraktar TB3 is a more advanced version of the widely used TB2. It is designed for naval operations and can take off from drone carriers and amphibious assault ships. This carrier-capable UCAV can conduct intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance missions, as well as attack operations, using the smart weapons mounted beneath its wings.
The aircraft incorporates reinforced landing gear for operations on short decks and features a pusher-propeller configuration. It is powered by the TEI-PD170 turbo-diesel engine, which supports reliable performance across varying altitudes and conditions.
The TB3 UAV is a large drone measuring 8.3 meters in length, 2.6 meters in height, and 14 meters in wingspan. The TB3 UAV has a payload capacity of 280 kilograms and a maximum takeoff weight of 1,450 kilograms.
It can cruise at 125 to 160 knots, has an endurance of 24+ hours, and operates at altitudes of 20,000–25,000 feet, with test flights demonstrating capabilities beyond 36,000 feet.
The drone supports both line-of-sight (LOS) and beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) or SATCOM communications (SATCOM), which extends its operational reach significantly for maritime and over-the-horizon missions. The TB-3’s operational range is about 2,000 kilometres.
The TB3 excels in full autonomy, with proven capabilities for autonomous takeoff, landing, cruise, and taxi operations even from short-runway vessels without catapults or arresting gear. The drone reportedly integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered automatic landing systems that use visual line tracking, carrier detection, and runway angle estimation.
In November 2024, the TB-3 successfully took off and landed on the TCG Anadolu, becoming the world’s first fixed-wing UCAV in its class to successfully take off and land autonomously from TCG Anadolu’s short deck. In February 2026, during the Steadfast Dart drills, the TB-3 demonstrated its capabilities as a Medium-Altitude, Long-Endurance (MALE)-class maritime surveillance and strike drone while operating from TCG Anadolu.
The TB3 is suitable for tasks such as marine surveillance, targeting, and small-strike operations, as it can carry precision-guided missiles and conduct long-endurance missions. The platform has successfully carried out live-fire testing using domestic weapons, according to earlier sources.
It features six hardpoints under its wings and can carry a wide array of Turkish smart munitions, including laser-guided glide bombs such as MAM-C, MAM-L, and MAM-T. It can also carry INS/GPS-guided munitions, IR-guided weapons, L-UMTAS anti-tank missiles, Cirit 70 mm rockets, and even mini cruise missiles or loitering munitions such as the Kemankeş series.
During Steadfast Dart 2026, the TB-3 dropped two Roketsan MAM-L guided bombs on a floating sea target on February 15, 2026, as seen in the footage published by developer Baykar. This was the first time a Navy drone carried out live munitions fires in a NATO exercise. The TB3 also showed strong performance in cold-weather, high-wind, and heavy-sea operations during this keenly watched NATO exercise.
For now, Italy has not specified the number of TB-3 drones it will buy or the delivery schedule. However, the Italian navy chief’s statement indicates a clear intention to integrate cutting-edge UCAV capabilities into Italy’s naval aviation.
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