Piaggio expands sharply with Baykar takeover

Italy-based aviation firm Piaggio Aerospace, which is undergoing restructuring after its acquisition by Turkish unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) producer Baykar, will increase aircraft production capacity by five to six times through new investments and expand its maintenance, repair and engine capabilities, the company's chairman said late Monday.

Haluk Bayraktar, chairman of the board of Piaggio Aerospace and General Manager of Baykar, said in a press release that the company, with its 140-year history, has built countless aircraft within the Italian aviation industry, stating: "This is a very important legacy for Baykar.

"Combining our technologies with Piaggio offered a unique advantage and potential to bring together the strengths of Türkiye and Italy."

Bayraktar said Piaggio operates two facilities, one for manufacturing its P180 light transport aircraft and the other for producing engine parts and carrying out engine maintenance.

He said: "With all the capabilities and expertise, it has a very unique aircraft. It's the world's fastest turboprop aircraft and has a unique design.

"When Piaggio's facilities, capabilities, talents, heritage, and brand name are combined with Baykar's new innovations in the field of UAVs, we see a bright future."

Bayraktar said the P180 is a special aircraft and that production capacity has remained low in recent years, but that Baykar aims to revive operations and increase output.

Piaggio currently produces about four to five aircraft per year, but that figure will rise next year, he said.

He said production of the P180 Avanti would increase to 25 to 30 aircraft per year, adding that existing facilities, production setup and supply chains allow such capacity.

He added: "As Baykar, we are committed to new investments, new updates, and making this aircraft attractive again.

"We are determined to ensure it gets its share of the market. Looking at the world in general, Piaggio has produced more than 250 P180 aircraft to date, and 220 of them have been actively flying since 1986. So it's a very reliable and robust aircraft. The entire fleet has accumulated over 1.1 million flight hours in total."

Bayraktar said Baykar aims to introduce technological updates to maintain the aircraft's competitiveness.

"In this context, we are investing heavily in system updates and modernizing the avionics. The entire industry is switching to Garmin avionics. We have started our work and will implement Garmin avionics updates in the systems," he said.

He said Piaggio will renovate interiors with updated Italian design features and noted that the aircraft already has digital cabin pressurization and new environmental control systems.

"We have new satellite communication technologies on the aircraft. We are working on increasing maintenance intervals and inspection periods," he noted.

Bayraktar said the upgrades will result in a new version of the aircraft to be branded as the "Avanti Next" model.