The announcement comes after an MOU was signed between Ploughshare’s CEO Hetti Barkworth-Nanton and Professor Simon Harwood, UK Capability Development Director for Leonardo. Ploughshare has been the Ministry of Defence’s trusted commercialisation partner for over 20 years.
Ploughshare will be working in collaboration with Leonardo to see how it can accelerate its rich history of technological development into civilian, societal and business benefits. The partnership will build an engine to focus on uncovering hidden value and untapped IP within Leonardo UK Ltd; prioritise the innovations with the most potential; and ultimately turn validated IP into revenue by putting them on the market and help launch disruptive ideas and innovations into new ventures.
Professor Simon Harwood said: “We welcome the signing of this Intellectual Property commercialisation agreement with Ploughshare, which represents an important opportunity for Leonardo. Leonardo UK Ltd invests more than half a billion pounds in research and development each year, building extensive expertise and proprietary capabilities across electro-optics, antenna design, sensors, communications, cyber security, composite materials, autonomous systems and many other fields. These advanced technologies have the potential to deliver benefits far beyond defence.
"At a time of increased defence investment and rapid technological progress, this agreement, alongside our involvement in the Technology and Growth Alliance, will help accelerate the transfer of research and development into tangible benefits for UK industry, the economy and consumers.”
Hetti Barkworth-Nanton added: “We’re delighted to have created this partnership with Leonardo UK Ltd. In co-creating an IP commercialisation engine alongside Leonardo, one of the biggest players in the defence world, we are taking a huge step forward in unearthing and developing some of the most dynamic IP in the world. Their membership of The TAG Alliance, and this new partnership with us to accelerate and commercialise technologies and IP beyond defence into civilian application, demonstrate two things clearly.
“The first is Leonardo’s commitment to ensure their work makes real impact beyond defence, benefiting people, communities and businesses across the UK. Secondly, it showcases how important dual-use technology and accelerating innovation is across the UK today. We and Leonardo are here to support the UK as an “innovation nation” as part of a Team UK approach to boost our economy and underpin growth.”
Leonardo UK Ltd is also a founding member of The Technology And Growth Alliance (now 19-members strong), convened by Ploughshare as a movement to unlock the full value of defence innovation, translating it into growth and impact for the UK, by extending proven capability and bringing forward IP that has yet to realise its potential, and connecting it to new applications, new partners and new markets. TAG was announced in September 2025 and went live in August 2026.