• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Israeli USV programme hits the rocks

  14th April 2020

  The Israeli Navy has terminated a programme to use unarmed and armed unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for maritime patrol missions. Unmanned underwater systems remain under …

• Digital Battlespace

  DE&S awards anti-jamming research contract to Cobham

  31st March 2020

  Cobham Aerospace Connectivity is to work on researching advanced anti-jamming techniques for the MoD Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S;) to protect Global Navigation Satellite Systems …

• Defence Helicopter

  No mention of Egyptian AW149 order in Leonardo's 2019 financials

  13th March 2020

  A supposed contract for at least 20 Leonardo AW149 8t-class helicopters from Egypt has not been listed among the orders signed off by the manufacturer …

• Defence Helicopter

  Utility helicopter OEMs eye Spike

  18th March 2020

  Rafael continues to offer its Spike family of antitank guided missiles as a weapons upgrade for various types of utility helicopter. Spike variants already arm …

• Digital Battlespace

  Leonardo to upgrade Italian land and naval IFF systems

  5th March 2020

  Leonardo will provide new-generation IFF (NGIFF) systems to land and naval platforms operated by the Italian Armed Forces, to bring them to a Mode 5 …

• Defence Notes

  Defence awakens to European COVID-19 nightmare

  18th March 2020

  The impact of COVID-19 has caused widespread disruption to the European defence industry which has introduced exceptional operational measures to protect the health of armed forces personnel, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Leonardo to open new São Paulo Helicopter Support Centre

  17th February 2020

  Leonardo has announced the construction of a new Helicopter Support Centre in Itapevi near São Paulo, Brazil. The centre will ‘enhance service capabilities in South America’, …

• Air Warfare

  Two King Air 350ERs enter service with Leonardo’s ATOS system

  17th February 2020

  The ATOS mission system from Leonardo is installed on two Textron-built King Air 350ER maritime patrol aircraft that have entered into service with an undisclosed …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sea Venom design delay raises Wildcat capability questions

  5th March 2020

  The anti-ship weapons capabilities of the RN AW159 Wildcat have been dealt a blow with confirmation that the new MBDA Sea Venom missile has suffered from design …

• Digital Battlespace

  Germany joins ESSOR programme

  25th February 2020

  The Alliance for ESSOR (a4ESSOR) has been awarded a contract amendment by OCCAR which allows Germany to join the European Secure Software defined Radio (ESSOR) …

• Digital Battlespace

  Leonardo​ radar for Indonesian Air Force

  24th January 2020

  The Indonesian Air Force (IAF) is to receive a Leonardo RAT 31 DL/M radar system, the company announced on 21 January.The system will be delivered …

• Defence Helicopter

  Singapore Airshow 2020: Naval rotorcraft refresh expected across Asia-Pacific

  13th February 2020

  Across the Asia-Pacific region, where maritime territorial disputes are a persistent feature of the security landscape, the naval helicopter market offers a number of opportunities. …

• Naval Warfare

  Tenth FREMM vessel launched for Italian Navy

  27th January 2020

  The tenth FREMM vessel to be built by Fincantieri for the Italian Navy has been launched at the integrated shipyard of Riva Trigoso, Genoa. This …

• Defence Helicopter

  Winning streak continues as Leonardo scoops USN trainer award

  14th January 2020

  Leonardo has beaten off competition from Airbus, Bell and two other contenders to win the USN’s TH-73A trainer helicopter programme, with its offer coming in $265 million …

• Defence Helicopter

  Poland seeks new naval helicopters

  17th January 2020

  The Polish Navy plans to modernise its aviation fleet through the procurement of a series of multirole helicopters, starting a new ‘technical dialogue’ with industry. …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  MH-139 (UH-1N Huey Replacement)

  Other bidders included Sikorsky with HH-60U offer and Sierra Nevada with upgrading offer of UH-60As to UH-60L configuration.In February 2018, Leonardo filed a protest to ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  TH-73 Advanced Helicopter Training System - AHTS (TH-57 Replacement)

  Contenders for the competition included the Leonardo single engine TH-119 – a military variant of the AW119Kx – and Bell’s newly upgraded single engine 407GXi. ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW189 - Egypt

  Leonardo and Egypt have never officially confirmed the order and it was not mentioned by the manufacturer when it released full-year FY2019 financial results in ...

• Light attack

  M-346 Procurement (1-24) [Nigeria]

  Programme Background On 9 December 2023, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Chief of Air Staff Marshal Amao said the country expects delivery of 54 new ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  SW4 Puszczyk Replacement [Poland]

  Programme Background  In 2002, Poland order 47 SW4 training helicopters from Italian manufacturer Leonardo; as of Spring 2025, the Ministry of Defence is looking to ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Maritime Operations Helicopters

  The three maritime operations helicopters will be used for logistics and personnel transport, alongside transportation of PASKAL naval special forces in operations in the area. ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Project Proteus [UK]

  Project Proteus is an RN and Leonardo effort to design and develop an uncrewed helicopter demonstrator that could provide an innovative alternative to existing crewed ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Project Proteus [UK]

  Project Proteus is an RN and Leonardo effort to design and develop an uncrewed helicopter demonstrator that could provide an innovative alternative to existing crewed ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  New Exploration and Escort Helicopter (NEES) (Phase II) [Italy]

  Programme Background Phase I In 2017, the Italian government signed a contract with Leonardo to replace its fleet of AW129 Mangusta attack helicopters with the ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Global Combat Air Programme [Italy]

  Programme Background Shephard notes that the Italian, British and Japanese components of GCAP are tracked in separate entries. Programme Timeline 2019: In September 2019, the UK and Italian ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH90 TTH Qatar

  The NH90 helicopter programme is managed by NH Industries, a joint-venture owned by Airbus Helicopters (62.5%), Leonardo (32%), and Fokker (5.5%). In September 2019, Qatar ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  AW139 [Greece]

  Programme Background Reportedly, during a December 2023 meeting of the Greek Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Hellenic Air Force (HAF) proposed the purchase of 14 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  AW139M (1-7) [Algeria]

  Programme Background In 2016, Leonardo partnered with the Algerian National Defence Ministry to establish a second international production line for AW139 helicopters. By March 2025, ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  New Medium Helicopter (NMH) [UK]

  Programme Background NMH Market Interest Day On 11 November 2021, the MoD communicated the requirements of the £1 billion ($1.34 billion) New Medium Helicopter (NMH) ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  NH90 NFH Qatar

  The NH90 helicopter programme is managed by NH Industries, a joint-venture owned by Airbus Helicopters (62.5%), Leonardo (32%), and Fokker (5.5%). In September 2019, Qatar ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  Rotorsim

  Rotorsim, the joint venture equally owned by Leonardo and CAE, provides training solutions on Leonardo Helicopters platforms through high-fidelity simulator systems. Rotorsim currently operates in ...

• Naval guns

  Leonardo 76/62 Sovraponte

  The 76/62 Sovraponte (Overdeck) is a medium-calibre gun developed by Leonardo that weighs 30% less than the legacy OTO 76/62 Super Rapid and does not penetrate below decks. ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Italian LDEW (Leonardo/MBDA)

  As announced in December 2024, Leonardo and MBDA are collaborating to produce a Fire Unit Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) for the Italian Navy. The ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AW129

  The AW129 is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine attack helicopter originally developed for the Italian Army and subsequently developed into a multirole combat platform for the ...

• Major networking projects

  MARS Communications Suite

  Leonardo has been contracted by South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) to supply a suite of communications systems for the UK RN's ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Proteus

  Proteus is a technology demonstrator that Leonardo is developing in collaboration with the UK MoD's Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S;) Future Capabilities Group and the ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  IVCS

  The Integrated Voice Communications System (IVCS) is a shipboard communications system that combines naval telephones and intercom equipment into one system. It consists of terminals, ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  TH-119 (TH-73A Thrasher )

  The USN announced on 13 January 2020 that Leonardo had been awarded a $176.5 million contract for the production of 32 TH-119 helicopters in support of ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  AW169M

  The AW169M is the customised military version of the multirole AW169. The 4.5t-class helicopter is designed to perform a range of light utility and armed ...

• Trainer

  M-346

  The M-346 is a Lead In Fighter Trainer (LIFT), developed by Alenia in partnership with Yakovlev as the Yak/AEM-130 before the partnership was disbanded. The first ...

• Land: battle management systems

  MFoCS

  Mounted Family of Computing Systems (MFoCS) is a modular family which is designed to integrate existing FBCB2, future JBC-P and WIN-T capability into a modular ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  Seaspray 7300E V2

  The Seaspray 7300E V2 radar is an airborne, maritime, multi-mode surveillance radar manufactured by Leonardo. It is designed for the detection of small maritime targets in ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  AW119Kx

  The AW119Kx is a light, single-engine multirole helicopter. Launched in October 2012, it is available in civil and military variants, with the military version designated AW119M. ...

• Model 323 Fire Attack

  The Model 323 is a belly tank/refill hose system for Leonardo AW119 helicopters.

• Military helicopters - multirole

  AW139M

  As the military variant, the AW139M includes FLIR, self-protection equipment (including IR detection and countermeasures) and heavy-duty landing gear. The helicopter features a digital avionics ...