Among the 54 projects involving companies and institutions from 26 European countries, 13 saw Leonardo's participation. Within these, 11 concern capacitive development and two are related to research activities. This is the snapshot of the Group's contribution in the initiatives supported by the European Defence Fund, described in the article “Leonardo leading EU Defence”. In this scenario, the approach, geared to a strong involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises, proved effective, along with the strategic choice to focus on inclusiveness in the structuring of consortia and partnerships.
One of Leonardo-led projects is Emissary, which aims to improve the surveillance of the Space domain at European level. As explained in the article “A network of super-sensors ready to identify flying objects in Earth orbits”, the goal is to develop a network of advanced sensors (ground and Space) and a Command and Control system to support multi-domain operations and ensure Italian and European sovereignty in orbit.
The common theme behind the initiatives led by Leonardo is technological innovation, which in the E-CUAS programme is applied to air defence. The article “Thanks to a mobile radar system safe from also drone attacks” illustrates that the aim is to design and validate a complete solution for identifying and blocking drones in the three scenarios envisaged – fixed, mobile and deployable – through a technology demonstrator.
