April saw Leonardo attend SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing in Maryland, USA, where engineers from our Basildon and Southampton sites joined colleagues from our US business to showcase our cutting-edge detector and thermal imaging technologies. As leaders in sensor capability, Leonardo offers unparalleled solutions for a wide range of applications such as military grade land, naval and airborne systems, missile guidance systems, and space and astronomy instruments.
Over the last 10 years, this capability has helped the BBC transform their nature documentaries, helping reveal the nocturnal behaviour of wildlife across the world. To celebrate this, we created a Top 10 list to highlight the best moments our cameras have captured during this time.
Other sensor technology to garner attention this month was Leonardo’s digital Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars. In line with the development of the ECRS Mk2 radar for the Royal Air Force Typhoons, we published an article covering the evolution of Leonardo’s 70+ year history of radar technology, exploring how AESA radars have become the pinnacle of modern detection systems, offering improved detection range, accuracy and electronic protection capabilities.
Elsewhere, we published details of an update to the DragonFire laser weapon system incorporating Leonardo’s detector capability as the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced its intention to install the weapon system on Royal Navy ships. This will see DragonFire rapidly develop from a demonstration programme to an operational capability for the Navy.
The month also include us signing a teaming agreement with Cole Engineering Services to form Team Aurelian, with the objective of securing the British Army Collective Training Service (ACTS) contract, providing advanced training solutions for over 60,000 troops annually.
We concluded April with news of Leonardo being awarded a contract by the UK MOD’s Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) agency to supply, develop and future-proof the tools which generate and analyse data used by the UK Armed Forces’ combat aircraft for the next 10 years.
On the outreach side of things, our STEM Ambassadors supported the next generation of aerospace engineers by organising the Yeovil Flying Start Challenge Regional Final at RNAS Yeovilton. This exciting event offered students a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of aviation. They had the chance to explore state-of-the-art aircraft, including the AW149 helicopter, and participate in hands-on activities led by Leonardo and the Royal Navy. The winning team from Buckler’s Mead Academy went forward to the overall final held in Bristol in May.