The company is recognised as a supplier of choice for the design, development and manufacture of a wide range of interoperable defence communications systems that employ Leonardo’s leading-edge capabilities, fully integrated and assured into battlespace platforms across the defence spectrum, meeting the most demanding air, land and naval applications.
These solutions provide military users with the flexibility to operate within increasingly congested and contested environments, adapting to constraints through the use of smart bearer and information management, patented compression techniques. Leonardo also offers this capability with software definable transceiver technology, providing the means to dynamically implement multiple open standard or bespoke protocols and frequencies to combat modern threat environments.
Leonardo has 45 years’ experience in the counter-explosives domain, providing the ‘Guardian’ suite of systems to armed forces around the world. Leonardo employs its software defined radio (SDR) expertise to extend its long heritage in Force Protection, developing the next generation systems and waveform applications that will provide armed forces with enhanced protection against the evolving lethal threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), as well as enabling the deployment of Cyber and Electromagnetic Activities (CEMA) capability within the battlespace.
In the electronic warfare (EW) domain, Leonardo’s capabilities include the Communications Denial Sub-System (CoDeSS) Electronic Attack (EA) system, designed to disrupt enemy usage of HF to UHF communications bands. In addition, Leonardo provides full land and maritime EW training equipment alongside air EW equipment for the NATO Joint Electronic Warfare Core Staff (JEWCS) Alliance agency. This capability allows NATO forces to simulate the effects of realistic hostile EW equipment for training purposes.
Leonardo offers a world-class capability as a communications integrator in the maritime domain for both surface and sub-surface vessels. Supported by many years of unique experience designing and developing a wide range of secure technologies and systems for naval communications, we provide communications and bearer management solutions for internal and off platform communications, that reduce the cognitive burden on operators and support modern mission scenarios. Our smart, information management applications increase the efficiency of data transmissions – essential in reducing bandwidth requirements and when communicating with disadvantaged users on and off platforms. Our solutions range from individual platform enabling components to the provision of fully integrated platform communications systems.
In the air domain, Leonardo is developing the Sensor and Communications Systems technology for the next generation aircraft as part of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme, working with the UK Ministry of Defence and industrial partners as Team Tempest. Key capabilities being developed include:
- Aircraft Integrated Comms System (ICS)
- The Data Management and Security System (DMASS)
- Beyond Line of Sight Satellite Communications System (BLOS)
- Intra-Vehicle Data Link (IVDL)
