June was a busy and exciting month at Leonardo, filled with initiatives celebrating our Armed Forces partners and colleagues as well as inspiring the next generation of engineers.
Leonardo embraces the Whole Force ethos of the UK Armed Forces. This encompasses not only our products and capabilities delivered by our engineering teams, but also our strong partnerships through a range of military charities and organisations, and our support of the Armed Forces Covenant.
To mark Armed Forces Week in June, colleagues from across Leonardo, coordinated by our Armed Forces Network, came out to Salute our Forces. Highlighting our close association with the UK military, we shared the stories of some of our people who have transitioned from military careers to fulfilling roles at Leonardo. Chris Cameron, Head of Capability Development, Cyber & Security, detailed his journey from the British Army to a career in cybersecurity, while Nicola Triggs, Principal Project Controller and Royal Naval Reservist, highlighted the valuable skills reservists bring to their civilian roles. Leonardo Training Governance Lead, Peter Watkins, explained how his RAF career inspired his son, Kian, to rise through the ranks of the Air Cadets before studying aerospace engineering. We also heard from Julian Barlow, a Non-Destructive Testing Level 3 Specialist, who spoke about his transition from a 31-year career in the Royal Navy to a civilian role at Leonardo, demonstrating the unique skills and expertise veterans bring to the industry.
A team of Leonardo employees also participated in the Cateran Yomp, a challenging event in the Scottish Highlands, to raise funds for the Army Benevolent Fund.
We celebrated International Women in Engineering Day across our sites and also supported AeroWomen 24, hosted at the Westlands Entertainment Venue in Yeovil. Each year, the event, which is created and organised by women working at Leonardo, brings together women from across the aerospace sector to champion the diverse roles available in this exciting field. AeroWomen Chair and Leonardo apprentice, Freya Woollett, delivered a speech in a programme which also included Clive Higgins, Chair and CEO of Leonardo UK, who is a passionate advocate for women in aerospace.
An annual highlight for Leonardo is our attendance and sponsorship at the Big Bang Fair 2024 in Birmingham, the UK's largest celebration of STEM for young people. The event is fantastic way for our STEM ambassadors to meet aspiring engineers who learn more about the opportunities offered by studying STEM-related topics, Leonardo’s early careers roles, and gain an insight into working at Leonardo.
We were also proud to partner with Yeovil College to showcase inspirational artwork created by their students. This artwork now has a permanent home in the boardrooms at our helicopters facility in Yeovil, the Home of British Helicopters.
The celebrations in Yeovil continued as our multi-mission AW159 helicopter fleet surpassed 100,000 flight hours. This achievement reflects the dedication of our teams and the capabilities of the 72 AW159 helicopters currently in service with five operators worldwide, including the UK, Republic of South Korea and the Philippines.
With World Environment Day taking place in this month, Leonardo held its first Sustainability Week with activities taking place across our UK sites. The week was led by our UK Head of Sustainability, Ben Knight, who explained what motivates him and how, as part of Leonardo’s global commitment to Sustainable Development Goals, he aims to help Leonardo deliver real change.