Tag: Leonardo

Can rapid fielding of modern and mature 8x8 IFVs reduce the risk and enhance the combat agility of NATO’s Eastern front? The combat experience gathered in the Ukraine War reflects the need for agile land combat systems that effectively integrate maneuverability and firepower and rely on logistical support from domestic or neighboring allied countries. How can NATO get them quickly? Marrying proven systems and platforms delivered by trusted sources from active production lines is paramount in reducing risks and accelerating delivery and fielding.

The Royal Air Force (RAF), in partnership with Leonardo, successfully conducted a live trial of a ‘swarming drones’ capability targeting a simulated enemy air defense radar. The demonstration showed how a swarm of BriteCloud-equipped drones overwhelmed the threat radar systems with electronic noise.

The Spanish electronics consortium Indra announced it will lead the CROWN research and development project to develop and equip European fighters and other aircraft with a combined, software-defined radar, communications, and electronic defense enabling future aircraft to dominate the radioelectronic space.

The UK Ministry of Defence has chosen Leonardo/Thales protection system to protect the RAF Shadow ISTAR fleet. This single-source selection by the MOD follows the recent SALT III international trials hosted by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration in Sweden. There, the integrated Miysis/Elix-IR system, using a jamming waveform developed by the UK MOD’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, proved its ability to defeat Infra-Red missiles in live-fire exercises.

The Royal Air Force has selected Leonardo to support the next stage of their research and development program, exploring the current and future threat posed by hostile drones, and evaluating a range of technologies for counter-drone capability. The three-year program will commence in early 2020. Leonardo counter-drone technology has already seen use with the RAF and is under contract for the Italian Army and Air Force. In 2018 and 2019, following drone sightings at Gatwick and Heathrow airports, elements of Leonardo’s counter-drone technology were deployed by the RAF to allow airport operations to resume.

UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson unveiled today a concept model of a brand new next-generation combat aircraft being developed exclusively in the UK. The Tempest, as the futuristic fighter plane is called, could be ready for operations with the Royal Air Force in less than two decades, as the first Typhoons begin to be phased out of service.

The British Ministry of Defense has selected four groups to bid for its upcoming Air Support to Defense Operational Training (ASDOT) requirement. Each of the groups selected for the program has teamed with training services specialists from the USA, Canada, and Israel to deliver adversary aircraft and weapons. The winning group will operate various high-performance jets simulating aggressor fighter and attack planes, cruise missiles and electronic combat to training British air, land and naval forces. A final selection is expected in September 2018 followed by the contract award in 2020 that could be worth up to £1.5 billion over 15 years.

As part of the expanded weapon's capability of the M-346 Master aircraft, the Leonardo Group tested the fighter/attack trainer with air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities, launching Raytheon's AIM-9L Sidewinder air-to-air missile and drop laser-guided bombs.

The largest fleets of M-60 are in Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, where the M-60 is used alongside the M-1A1. In the recent years, these tanks are heavily engaged in combat operations, in Yemen, Syria, and Sinai where they have suffered significant losses to anti-tank weapons. To survive and continue to be effective in service these tanks must be modernized.

Active protection is a new area of interest for the British Army. During DSEI The Leonardo group announced it was selected by the MOD, to demonstrate APS technologies to counter evolving threats. The British MIPS seems to align well with the Modular APS architecture developed in the U.S., as deliverables from both programs will provide common controllers and other key subsystems that will enable the integration and fielding of affordable soft and hard kill APS solutions.

A new laser weapon demonstrator being built for the UK Ministry of Defence has been unveiled today by the UK Dragonfire consortium at DSEI 2017 in London. Known as the Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) the weapon offers a range of different engagement solutions depending on the tactical scenario, these include tracking, deterring, dazzling the sensors of a potential threat, up to damaging or destroying it.

The Italian-based international defense company Leonardo is introducing a new, Fighter Attack (FA) variant of their M-346 trainer, dedicated to attack missions. The new variant will be shown this week at the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget. According to the manufacturer, the new fighter attack version is an evolution of a family concept of the M-346 Master, designed to create a common baseline, able to adapt and meet different requirements of air forces. According to Leonardo, several air forces have already expressed their interest in the new variant.