Leonardo sits at the heart of the UK’s combat air capabilities and export successes which amount to over 80% of all UK defence exports.

As one of the four core partners of Team Tempest, Leonardo is leading development of the Integrated Sensing and Non-Kinetic Effects (ISANKE) and Integrated Communications Systems capability for the UK's Future Combat Air System, at the heart of which will sits the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP). The programme, which is creating the new UK-Italy-Japan fighter jet which will go into service with the RAF in 2035, is a case study in how we expect integrated sensing and communications to create a decisive advantage for UK forces.

Leonardo’s participation is borne of the design and development of radar, defensive aids suites and electronic countermeasures delivered for combat air platforms around the world. As one of the four Eurofighter Typhoon national industry partners, Leonardo is responsible for over 60% of the aircraft’s on-board avionics as well as delivering the Joint Avionics Service (JAS) to ensure the Royal Air Force fleet’s operational readiness.

Alongside BAE Systems, Leonardo is currently supporting the spiral development of the UK Typhoon programme with a key capability being the development and delivery of the new ECRS MkII radar – a multi-function Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) which will provide the aircraft with a world-leading Electronic Warfare (EW) and Electronic Attack (EA) capability alongside optimised traditional radar functions.

Leonardo is the European leader in Electronic Warfare technology with a long heritage of successfully delivering cyber and electromagnetic activities (CEMA), training, technologies, equipment and systems integration around the world.

Leonardo UK's highly-skilled scientists and engineers are committed to delivering high-tech protective electronics for UK Armed Forces aircraft. Their work is already helping protect RAF Typhoons, Shadow R1 surveillance aircraft, E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft and the majority of the UK's helicopter fleet.

Electronic Countermeasures include the BriteCloud, the world’s first Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) Expendable Active Decoy (EAD), which delivers increased platform protection to fast-jet aircraft and their crews against a growing range of airborne and surface-based RF threats.

Addressing the dynamics of a changing battlefield, the new Royal Air Force ‘StormShroud’ autonomous collaborative platforms (ACPs) are equipped with Leonardo’s latest electronic warfare payload, BriteStorm . Able to confuse and suppress enemy radars during air combat missions, BriteStorm provides a new way for UK Armed Forces to deal with increasingly capable air defence systems. 

Our Academy for Electronic Warfare Operational Support (EWOS) and Cyber Operations provides customers with training on tools, processes and the operational context to ensure they can deliver information advantage and maximise their investment in CEMA systems.

As a National Cyber Security Centre – Assured Service Provider, our cyber security experts work alongside our military customers to maximise the processing, exploitation and sharing of data through the use of systems that are secure by design.

Helicopters have been designed, built and tested at Yeovil for over 80 years with Leonardo’s facility now the UK’s only end-to-end rotary wing manufacturer.

More than 50% of the UK Armed Forces’ frontline rotary aircraft started life with Leonardo in Yeovil, the Home of British Helicopters, including the Merlin AW101 and Wildcat AW159.

Leonardo works alongside the Royal Navy (and British Army) to provide Integrated Operational Support for these aircraft ensuring that their operational readiness to support to UK global operations such as the Carrier Strike Group deployment to the Far East.

Addressing future mission capability, Leonardo is working in partnership with DE&S Future Capabilities Innovation and the Royal Navy to develop the Proteus Technology Demonstrator. Designed to reduce cost, risk to life and regenerate mass, Proteus aims to provide comparable capability to traditional crewed platforms utilising and developing Autonomy, AI and Machine Learning for the delivery of military effect. 

As part of the UK DragonFire consortium, led by MBDA, Leonardo is developing the beam detector for a Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) Capability Demonstrator. Designed to protect naval vessels from fast-moving land and aerial targets, DragonFire tracks targets with pinpoint accuracy, able to hit an object the size of a £1 coin from a kilometre away.

One of the key themes of the SDR is how integration will be the force multiplier of the digital age.

Leonardo is also the Principal Systems Integrator for Team Minerva. Comprising leading UK defence companies, the team is tasked with delivering the UK Modular Integrated Protection System (MIPS) programme, the UK Ministry of Defence’s approach for the development of a Sovereign Active Protection Capability for the UK Military Vehicle Fleet.

Falcon Shield, Leonardo's rapidly deployable, scalable and modular Counter-Unmanned Aerial System (C-UAS), is operationally proven, protecting military bases, critical infrastructure, and high-profile events. The technology is integrated within the ORCUS C-UAS operated by the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) to support emergency operations in response to any drone-based crisis in the UK and overseas.