Leonardo presents itself at the London Motor Show with a renewed strategic posture, with a leading role in innovation on a global level and with a long-term sustainable vision, through its industrial capabilities, for the lasting progress of the planet. In the UK the company has a solid industrial presence: 8.000 people, 7 sites, a supply chain of over 2.100 companies and SMEs and annual R&D investments of around £ 180 million
With a completely redesigned strategic posture thanks to the "Be Tomorrow 2030" Strategic Plan, Leonardo returns to the Farnborough Airshow (London, 18-22 July, exhibition area B010), with the ambition to be at the forefront of the sector's digital transformation process Aerospace, Defense and Security.
In a logic of coexistence and mutual synergy between legacy business and the development of innovative solutions and markets, Leonardo puts the new generation fighter aircraft system FCAS (Future Combat Air System) at the center of its presence at the London Show, composed of individual " nodes ”interconnected thanks to powerful communication technologies, artificial intelligence and cloud, which will be the key to the future operating environment common to all domains. In the FCAS Leonardo has been involved in the United Kingdom as part of Team Tempest since the inception of the program and, internationally, in the context of a trilateral partnership with the defense industry champions of the United Kingdom and Sweden, as well as leading a team in Italy of national companies.
In helicopters, the ability to control the entire vertical dimension of flight is highlighted, with dual platforms digitally integrated in multi-domain operational contexts. The latest generation AW149 multi-mission helicopter on display in Farnborough, on the strength of its recent international success in Poland with a contract for 32 units and currently offered to the UK Ministry of Defense for the NMH - New Medium Helicopter requirement. Also on display is an AW159 optimized for use at sea, a domain where Leonardo's excellence is also confirmed by the AWHero remote piloted system, with some of Leonardo's most important surveillance equipment and sensors, including the Gabbiano Ultra Light.
In the exhibition area, Leonardo, leader in the field of trainers with over 2.000 units sold in 40 countries, also shows the M-346, a latest generation jet aircraft for pre-operational training, with use characteristics similar to those of combat aircraft, such as the Eurofighter Typhoon and the F-35. Currently in service with the air forces of Italy, the Republic of Singapore, Israel, Poland and Qatar, he has recently also been chosen by Greece. The M-346 is the protagonist of the new International Flight Training School (IFTS), born from the collaboration between Leonardo and the Italian Air Force, which already counts countries such as Qatar, Singapore, Germany and Japan among its customers. Also on display is the light attack version of the new M-345, capable of carrying out operational roles in addition to the training activities of student pilots.
Highlighted among the new generation technologies for digitization on board aircraft and helicopters, a wide range of CNI (Comunication, Navigation, Identification) self-protection and avionics systems, including the new LOAM, optimized for dual use, to alert crews to the presence of very small and hardly visible obstacles in low-altitude helicopter flight. Added to this are the ULISSES anti-submarine acoustic system, electronic scanning fire control radars such as the Grifo E and ECRS Mk0, surveillance radar and sensors for long and medium range air defense including TMMR (Tactical Multi Mission Radar ), recently launched, can also be used for anti-drone applications. And it is thanks to this portfolio and the recent strategic transactions with RADA Electronic Industries and with Hensoldt AG that Leonardo aims to strengthen its positioning and its international leadership in the Defense and Security Electronics sector.
Also on show at Farnborough are the most advanced technologies in the human-machine interface as well as capabilities based on simulated environments, artificial intelligence and augmented reality for training and training purposes for land, air, sea, space and cyber-attack missions. . Leonardo responds precisely to the threats of the fifth domain with a technological suite for Cyber Information Superiority - for analysis, intelligence, prevention and defense - and with the Cyber Range and Cyber Trainer platforms for the immersive simulation of complex scenarios, thanks to the creation of “Digital twins” of networks, systems and applications to be protected. X-2030 also leverages on artificial intelligence and simulation, as well as on cloud, supercomputing, deep learning and video analytics, a solution to correlate huge amounts of data from heterogeneous sources in real time and provide a synoptic picture of the situation. to support decisions and interventions in the field.
Leonardo also presents its vision for innovative and sustainable air mobility based on disruptive technologies, platforms, control systems, infrastructures and new business models: from the simulator of the AW609 multirole tiltrotor, the first in the world for civil certification, to technologies enabling that will make the helicopter of the future, the Skydweller solar drone, navigation and satellite communication services increasingly 'smart' and connected.
Space also for multinational programs where Leonardo is at the forefront: from the Eurofighter aircraft, to the Eurodrone, remotely piloted aircraft of medium altitude and long duration, both born in the context of large European defense cooperation, as well as initiatives financed by the Europe such as Clean Sky and SESAR 3, which look at the air transport of the future in an increasingly sustainable key.
Finally, the spatial dimension, an integral part of defense and security operations but also a driver of innovation, sustainability and development. On show technologies and services for Earth observation and for monitoring its orbit (Space Situational Awareness) and intervening (In-orbit servicing) to mitigate the problem of overcrowding. A focus is then dedicated to planetary exploration and the main international programs towards the Moon (Artemis and Moonlight) and Mars (Mars Sample Return) and the technological contribution guaranteed by Leonardo, also through the Space Alliance, formed by the joint ventures Telespazio and Thales Alenia Space.