Italian defense giant Leonardo unveiled the Astore Levante UAS at the Farnborough International Airshow. Based on the TB3, it is being developed as an unmanned aircraft for the Italian Navy and could influence Japan's future direction as well.
Leonardo unveiled the Astore Levante unmanned aircraft system (UAS) at Farnborough airfield. The Astore Levante is based on Turkey's Bayraktar TB3 and is said to have an appearance combining the characteristics of the TB2 and TB3.
Leonardo and Baykar established the LBA Systems joint venture in 2025 to pursue the joint development of UAS, and the Astore Levante is described as a UAS for the Italian Navy based on the Bayraktar TB3.
The background to this is the Italian Navy's operational plan for the aircraft carrier Cavour. It has been reported that a policy was announced in 2026 to introduce the TB3 as a complement to the F-35B.
Based on the information currently available, specific operational details remain undisclosed, including how the Astore Levante would fit into Cavour's operations and whether it could carry long-range weapons.
The development of the Astore Levante has also been reported in connection with growing interest in cooperation on Europe's latest unmanned-aircraft technologies and in the defense posture around the Mediterranean.