Annual rank98
Italy · Industrials
Leonardo
Aerospace, defence and security group active in aeronautics, automation, cyber, electronics, helicopters, computing and space.
FY2022–FY2025
FY2022–FY2025
FY2022–FY2025
current context only
Company profile
Link aircraft, sensors and space systems into mission capability
Leonardo brings together helicopters, aircraft, defence electronics, cyber capabilities and space systems. Its most revealing products are ecosystems rather than isolated machines: aircraft connect to simulators and ground schools, radars to command networks, countermeasures to platform protection and space instruments to control centres. Named programmes show how engineering, software, training and long-term support combine around an operational mission.
Vertical flight
Switch missions in the AW149 and land the AW609 on a carrier
The AW149 can be configured for troop transport, medical evacuation, rescue, special operations, surveillance or command. The AW609 combines vertical take-off with aeroplane-like cruise; before its landing trials on the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour, crews rehearsed digitally and then tested more than 15 approach and departure conditions.
- AW149 multi-role helicopter Cabin configurations, mission systems and battlefield roles
- Open the AW149 brochure Specifications and illustrated mission layouts
- Explore the AW609 A tiltrotor combining vertical lift and fixed-wing cruise
- Read the Cavour trial account Digital rehearsal and shipborne test conditions
- ▶ VideoWatch: AW609 ship trials Approach, deck landing and departure from the Italian carrier
Aircraft and training
Connect real aircraft with synthetic pilots and austere runways
The M-346 training system links the jet, ground school, simulators and Live, Virtual and Constructive scenarios so students can fly against synthetic participants. The C-27J Spartan tackles a different problem: tactical transport from short or unprepared strips, with removable kits for cargo, medical evacuation, firefighting and special missions.
- M-346 integrated training system Aircraft, embedded simulation and ground-based training
- ▶ VideoWatch: M-346 advanced trainer The aircraft and its training-system role
- C-27J Spartan Next Generation A multi-mission tactical airlifter for austere operations
- Open the C-27J mission brochure Cargo, medical, firefighting and maritime configurations
- ▶ VideoWatch: C-27J pilot tour A pilot-guided look at the Next Generation cockpit and aircraft
Sensors and protection
See the threat, coordinate the response and misdirect the missile
Kronos Naval and Kronos Power Shield use active electronically scanned arrays for naval surveillance and land-based air and missile defence. BriteCloud takes protection down to a disposable decoy containing a miniature digital jammer, while Miysis directs infrared energy towards heat-seeking missile seekers.
- Kronos Naval Multifunction AESA radar for naval surveillance and defence
- Kronos Power Shield Land-based ballistic-missile surveillance and air defence
- BriteCloud A self-contained digital RF decoy dispensed like a flare
- Miysis DIRCM Directed-infrared protection against heat-seeking missiles
- ▶ VideoWatch: the Kronos radar family Systems from medium- to very-long-range air defence
Space systems
Read materials from orbit and drill for resources on the Moon
PRISMA distinguishes materials through hyperspectral signatures, while the Fucino centre controls satellites through more than 170 antennas. PROSPECT combines a robotic drill and miniature laboratory designed to collect and analyse lunar material, extending Leonardo's role from instruments in orbit to machines working directly on another world's surface.
- Leonardo in space Instruments, satellite systems, services and exploration
- PRISMA hyperspectral mission Earth observation through detailed spectral signatures
- Inside the Fucino centre Orbital insertion and satellite control across 170-plus antennas
- PROSPECT Moon drill The drill and miniature laboratory designed for lunar samples
- ▶ VideoWatch: PROSPECT explained How ProSEED and the ProSPA laboratory work together
Official profile sources: Aerospace, Defence and Security · Leonardo Corporate Governance Report — Financial Year 2016
Current 2026 update
What is changing at Leonardo in 2026?
Leonardo has added an owned land-industrial base; Leonardo DRS is proving software upgrades on fielded systems; and the group is trying to connect the portfolio through a multi-domain architecture.
The change in one sentence
A land base, a software layer and a connecting architecture now sit at three different levels of maturity.
IDV is consolidated; an issuer-reported counter-drone test milestone was achieved but Raft has not closed; Michelangelo's customer adoption and 2026-2027 roadmap milestones are still unevidenced.
Four lenses on 2026
The same four-quadrant format used in the Company profile.
01 · Owned land systems
IDV turns an acquisition into a vehicle-and-propulsion industrial domain
Leonardo completed the Iveco Defence Vehicles acquisition on 18 March and has consolidated IDV from 1 April. In Q2, IDV reported EUR0.67bn in orders and a EUR6.16bn backlog, including 860 high-mobility tactical trucks for Romania and 34 8x8 SUPERAV platforms for Spain. Separately, IDV unveiled a V12 for main battle tanks, rated up to 1,300 kW and 6,000 Nm, and a V8 for armoured combat-support systems, up to 855 kW and 4,300 Nm. The sources do not link those engines to the named orders. An integrated project team is coordinating the acquisition integration; management targets most Transition Service Agreements closing by year-end, not all agreements already closed.
- Current signalConsolidated from 1 April · EUR6.16bn Q2 backlog · most TSAs targeted to close by year-end
- Why it mattersLand vehicles and propulsion are now owned industrial capacity, changing Leonardo's perimeter rather than merely adding another partnership.
- H1 IDV and Raft update Leonardo · 30 July 2026
- IDV V8 and V12 propulsion range IDV · 17 June 2026
02 · Software changes the mission
A software-only update expands a fielded air-defence system; Raft remains the acquisition bet
On 11 August, Leonardo DRS reported that its SGT STOUT M-SHORAD mission-equipment package defeated Group 1-2 small-drone threats in a US Government test. Several hundred systems were already fielded; the expanded test scope came from detection and fire-control software updates without new hardware in the mission-equipment package. The test is issuer-reported evidence, not a new procurement award or independent certification. Separately, DRS signed a definitive USD450m agreement to acquire Raft, whose open-architecture software fuses multi-domain data for US government and defence customers. The transaction remains subject to approvals and customary conditions, with Q4 completion expected; Raft is not yet owned or integrated.
- Current signalSeveral hundred SGT STOUT systems fielded · no new MEP hardware in the test · Raft close expected Q4
- Why it mattersSoftware can extend what installed hardware does, while Raft is intended to add a broader mission-data layer only after the deal closes.
- SGT STOUT software-only test Leonardo DRS · 11 August 2026
- Raft acquisition agreement Leonardo DRS · 28 July 2026
- H1 IDV and Raft update Leonardo · 30 July 2026
03 · Architecture before adoption
Michelangelo Dome sets out the connective roadmap, not yet the customer result
Leonardo presents Michelangelo Dome's MC5 plug-in module as a way to connect air, land, maritime and space platforms, command-and-control, sensors and effectors, including legacy and third-party assets, with AI, high-performance computing and big-data support. Its March plan lists 2026 K-Swarm, DEAD ZONE and integrated air/missile-defence C2 trials, plus initial All Domain C2 and MC5 capability targeted across 2026-2027. It also reports discussions with more than 20 countries and estimates EUR21bn of opportunities through 2035, EUR6bn in 2026-2030. Those are management roadmap and market claims: no named customer award, completed 2026 item, deployment or realised EUR opportunity was evidenced by the cutoff.
- Current signalThree named 2026 trials · initial C2/MC5 targeted across 2026-2027 · EUR21bn management estimate
- Why it mattersMichelangelo is the attempt to sell integration across the portfolio; trials and customer awards must show whether it becomes a system rather than a slide.
- Michelangelo architecture and roadmap Leonardo · 12 March 2026
04 · What to watch
Three questions for the next disclosures
The next evidence should turn integration targets, a pending acquisition and a management roadmap into completed milestones.
- IDV integrationBy year-end, how many Transition Service Agreements have actually closed against management's target for most of them?
- Raft ownershipDoes the acquisition close in Q4, and what concrete post-close integration into DRS or group offerings is then disclosed?
- Michelangelo proofWhich named 2026 trial is completed, and does initial MC5 capability or any named customer deployment become evidenced across 2026-2027?
Annual record
Ranking history
Future editions add rows; they do not rewrite the 2026 record.
| Edition | Measurement period | Rank | Revenue growth | Net-income growth | Stock return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | FY2022–FY2025 | 98 | +33% | +32% | +533% |