Leonardo

Leonardo is a major Italian aerospace, defense and security conglomerate headquartered in Rome. The company traces its origins to 1948, when it was established as Finmeccanica, a mechanical-engineering holding company under Italy's state industrial group IRI; it was rebranded Leonardo-Finmeccanica in 2016 and simplified to Leonardo in 2017, in reference to Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo is publicly traded on the Borsa Italiana under the ticker LDO and is a component of the FTSE MIB index, while the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance retains a minority stake of roughly 30%. As of 2024 the company reported revenue of approximately €17.8 billion and around 60,500 employees, with operations across roughly 150 countries.

The group is organized around core businesses spanning Aeronautics (military, commercial and training aircraft, and aerostructures), Helicopters, Electronics and defense/security systems, Space (through joint ventures Telespazio and Thales Alenia Space), and Cyber & Security Solutions. Notable programmes include the AgustaWestland family of military and civil helicopters, participation in the Eurofighter Typhoon and ATR turboprop programmes, and a leading role in the multinational Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) sixth-generation fighter effort. Leonardo's Aeronautics division also develops a broad line of uncrewed aerial systems, from small tactical types to the long-endurance Falco Xplorer.

Within its unmanned-systems portfolio, Leonardo produces the AWHERO, a 200 kg-class rotary-wing uncrewed aircraft developed for shipborne and land-based intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance missions, and the CREX-B, a small backpackable electric fixed-wing micro UAS designed for short-range reconnaissance by special operations and tactical forces.