Euronaval Online 2020: Italian Company Leonardo design and supply naval defense products.

Italian company Leonardo is a market leader in the design and supply of systems and products for naval defence and maritime and coastal surveillance. In the naval domain, the company is able to meet all requirements in this sector for any type of ship, of any class and displacement - from small patrol boats and minesweepers to aircraft carriers.

Leonardo is a market leader in the design and supply of systems and products for naval defense and maritime and coastal surveillance. (Picture source Leonardo)

Over the last 50 years, more than 40 marine organisations around the world have chosen Leonardo technology to equip more than 100 naval vessels. In addition to Italy’s ‘Legge Navale (Naval Law)’ programme, which will see a significant renewal of the Country’s fleet, other significant projects include the collaborative Italian-French programmes Horizon and FREMM, the Qatar Navy’s modernisation programme and a partnership with the United Arab Emirates in the naval sector. These have allowed Leonardo to establish itself as a major international player in the integration of combat systems and a leading provider of advanced equipment for modern naval requirements.

Leonardo's naval offer includes a wide range of products and skills, ranging from the capability to produce and integrate combat systems, naval combat management and communication systems, to the latest generation radar sensors, fire control systems, electro -optics and navigation systems. The offer also includes integrated UAVs, different caliber gun mounts, missiles, torpedoes, sonar and electronic warfare suites.

The company’s legacy business experience in the design, development and implementation of command and control systems has given birth to ATHENA, a latest -generation naval combat management system that provides data acquisition, merging and management capabilities to effectively evaluate scenarios and manage available resources, thus ensuring rapid and effective decision-making processes.

All of Leonardo’s radar systems feature cutting -edge technology, flexibility and operational modularity. The most recent example is the multifunctional family of KRONOS® radars, available in fixed and rotating-face configurations - in the X, C and L frequency bands, based on Leonardo GaAs and GaN technology. The company’s fire control systems are also at the forefront of technology: the new NA30S MK2, which features an antenna and a dual band radar (X and Ka), can handle up to three weapons.

Leonardo occupies a global leadership position in the design, development and manufacture of small, medium and large-calibre naval guns (from 12.7 to 127mm) with 76mm artillery in service in over 60 navies worldwide. The Company’s range of latest -generation products, the 127/64 Light Weight, Marlin 40 and Marlin 30, round out its flexible and high -performance portfolio.

MU-90 torpedo (Picture source Wikipedia)

Leonardo also offers the innovative DART ammunition, for land and naval for defence against missiles and highly-maneuverable targets, and the Vulcano family, a precision ammunition that can accurately hit targets as far as 100 kilometers away. In the field of underwater defence systems, the company designs, produces and integrates heavy and light torpedoes, anti -torpedo countermeasure systems for submarines and surface vessels and sonar systems for underwater surveillance. Notably, the company’s heavy torpedoes portfolio includes the latest-generation Black Shark, designed to counter the most demanding surface and underwater threats.

Within the company’s light torpedoes portfolio are best-sellers the A244, over 1,200 of which (in various versions) have been sold, and the MU90, produced and marketed in international partnership with Eurotorp. Leonardo also continues to design new technologically advanced light torpedo products. Leonardo also develops protection systems for surface -based and underwater naval units. With experience in the field of sonars, the Company also provides underwater surveillance systems for ports, coastal areas and strategic sites. Selected and in -service with a number of naval forces around the world, the underwater systems produced by the company are in use in over 30 countries.

Leonardo also boasts a leadership role in the naval helicopters sector, thanks to the widest and most modern range of products available on the market today; including, the AW101 three -engine medium-heavy helicopter, the medium twin-engine NH90 NFH (under the NHI consortium) and the intermediate twin-engine AW159, without considering other Leonardo platforms utilised for dual-use and capable of operating at sea and, in some cases, in embarked mode, in particular for surveillance and search and rescue tasks.

Leonardo's naval helicopters cover a wide spectrum of specialised missions, such as anti -submarine and anti-ship combat, radar picket and surveillance, amphibious support and operations with special forces, utilities, search and rescue. Recently, the AWHERO remotely piloted helicopter of the 200 kg class, currently under development and already successfully used in international demonstration activities such as Ocean2020, is also being added to the product range. AWHERO integrates multiple systems and sensors made by Leonardo and is optimised for use on naval units for the performance of roles such as surveillance, intelligence, support for maritime security and anti -piracy missions to mention just a few.