June

A big month for our STEM outreach.

After two years of restrictions hampering plans for in-person STEM events, we returned to the Big Bang Fair at The NEC in Birmingham for a celebration of engineering, with a brand new set of interactive exhibits for the enthusiastic attendees.

Our new stand featured an AW101 ‘SAR Queen’ Search and Rescue arcade-style game based on the helicopter built at our Yeovil site; a Miysis DIRCM ‘Sense and Detect’ demonstrator of the technology we design in Edinburgh; and our ever-popular Thermal Imaging selfie exhibit, which uses hardware built at our Basildon and Southampton sites to show attendees what they look like using only heat, not visible light. The Rampaging Chariots assault course also made its return at The Big Bang Fair, with young people competing against each other in lively time trials.

Our STEM ambassadors appeared with interactive exhibits later in the month at the Royal Bath & West Show, and Cosford Air Show, where Chief of the Air Staff, Sir Mike Wigston, spoke with Leonardo graduates and apprentices about the importance of sustaining skills in the UK. Our STEM activities continued at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) and Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) in July.

In conjunction with our STEM presence at shows and events, Tom Nash, Leonardo Miysis DIRCM Campaign Manager, former Royal Air Force navigator and a volunteer with the Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team, spoke to us about how studying STEM subjects has made a significant positive impact on his career.

Later in the month, on Clean Air Day, we revealed that apprentices from our Basildon site had been working as STEM ambassadors with students from local schools to map pollution levels as part of the Chelmsford Science and Engineering Society (CSES) ‘Fresh Air Fresh Thinking’ project.

On 23 June, we celebrated International Women in Engineering Day (INWED). To mark the occasion, Adam Clarke (who had recently been announced as Leonardo Helicopter UK Managing Director), in his role as executive sponsor of the company’s Equalise network group, wrote about how the company is striving for greater gender equality and opportunities for women at all levels.

To coincide with INWED, Aerowomen returned as a hybrid online and in-person event. Organised by a team of Leonardo female helicopter trainees, and hosted at our Yeovil site, this celebration of women in aerospace was a great opportunity for those women who have established careers in the industry to meet the next generation, and show that there is space for them in the sector.

June was Pride Month, and Sam Bone, Chair of Leonardo UK’s Pride Network Group, shared their thoughts on the progress our company has made in increasing LGBTQ+ visibility across our UK sites.

During Carers Week (6-12 June), we sat down with Julian Russell, Finance Director for the Leonardo UK Helicopter business and executive sponsor of the company’s Carers network group, to talk about what he’s learned as a carer during the past 17 years and why raising awareness of carers’ needs is vital. There was a schedule of activities for staff during the week, as we continued to focus on this year’s theme of making caring 'Visible, Valued and Supported'.

Our digital electronics factories went live across the UK in June, as we launched our new data-driven approach to design and manufacturing at our sites in Edinburgh, Luton, Basildon and Southampton. For the first time, the massive quantities of data being generated across the organisation on a daily basis could now be securely captured in one place.

Later in the month, we hosted Yeovil Town FC at the Home of British Helicopters as we took part in their new season kit launch.

For Leonardo, and much of the UK, one of the highlights of 2022 was the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend. We watched with pride as a fly-past of 70 aircraft from Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Airforce, led by Leonardo AW159 Wildcats and featuring AW101 Merlins, paid tribute in the skies over Buckingham Palace. The RAF Typhoon Display Team also performed a fly-past, forming the number 70 to celebrate Her Majesty’s 70-year reign.