What Is Leonardo? Inside Italy’s Aerospace, Defence and Electronics Giant

Leonardo is Italy’s state-anchored aerospace, defence and security champion, and one of the broadest portfolios in European industry — spanning helicopters, combat aircraft, radar, electronic warfare, naval guns and space. With €19.5 billion in 2025 revenue, the group ranks as the world’s twelfth-largest arms producer and Europe’s second-largest after BAE Systems in SIPRI’s tally.

Company Overview

Leonardo S.p.A. traces its roots to Finmeccanica, founded in 1948, and adopted its current name in 2016. Its single largest shareholder is the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, holding roughly 30 percent — making Leonardo, in practice, an instrument of national industrial strategy. The group consolidated historic Italian brands such as AgustaWestland (helicopters), Alenia Aermacchi (aircraft), OTO Melara (land and naval systems) and Selex/Galileo Avionica (electronics and radar) under a single roof.

The group’s financial momentum is directly tied to the European defence-spending surge that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Revenue grew 16 percent to €17.8 billion in 2024 and reached €19.5 billion in 2025, while net profit jumped 63 percent in 2024. In March 2026 Leonardo closed its roughly €1.6 billion acquisition of Iveco Defence, adding a sixth division — Land Defence — and marking the group’s entry into the armoured-vehicle market.

What Leonardo Does

What sets Leonardo apart from most European peers is the refusal to specialise. The company competes simultaneously across nine defence lines: Helicopters (among the world’s largest military rotorcraft makers), Electronics for Defence (radar, sensors, avionics — the group’s most profitable and fastest-growing arm), Aircraft (training, transport and combat-jet partnerships), electronic warfare, land and naval weapon systems (the OTO Melara heritage), cyber security, space (via the Telespazio and Thales Alenia Space joint ventures), command and control, and the newly added land defence / armoured-vehicle line.

Product and Programme Portfolio

Eurofighter Typhoon — Europe’s Multinational Fighter

Leonardo is one of the core partners representing Italy in the Eurofighter Typhoon consortium, holding roughly a 21 percent programme share. It is responsible for fuselage sections, the left wing, and significant avionics and sensor content. The Typhoon serves with the air forces of the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait. Leonardo’s radar and EW contribution is central to the jet’s next-generation ECRS (E-Scan) radar upgrades.

GCAP — The Sixth-Generation Fighter Programme

The Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) is the sixth-generation combat-aircraft effort jointly developed by Italy, the UK and Japan, targeting a 2035 in-service date. Leonardo is the Italian prime and plays a critical role in the Integrated Sensing and Non-Kinetic Effects (ISANKE) and Integrated Communications System (ICS) workstreams. Built on the UK’s earlier Tempest work, the programme has, per open sources, moved into its operational/organisational phase, with the three nations establishing a joint headquarters company to define workshare.

M-346 Master — Jet Trainer and Light Attack

The M-346 Master is a twin-engine advanced jet trainer that doubles as a light-attack platform in its M-346FA (Fighter Attack) variant. It excels as a lead-in fighter trainer for pilots transitioning to modern combat jets such as the Typhoon, Rafale and F-35. Operators include Italy, Poland, Israel, Singapore, Greece, Qatar and Turkmenistan. Leonardo bundles the aircraft with integrated ground-based training systems, including simulators, to deliver a complete training package.

C-27J Spartan — Tactical Transport

The C-27J Spartan is a medium-light tactical transport capable of operating from short, unprepared strips. Sharing engines and avionics with the C-130J eases logistics commonality. Operators include Italy, the United States (in limited numbers, including special-mission variants), Australia, Romania, Lithuania, Mexico and Peru. The aircraft has been adapted into firefighting and ISR/gunship (MC-27J) special-mission variants.

Helicopter Family: AW101, AW139, AW149, AW159

Leonardo Helicopters (formerly AgustaWestland) holds one of the broadest military and civil rotorcraft portfolios in the world. The AW101 is a three-engine heavy-class helicopter used for maritime patrol, search-and-rescue, ASW and VIP/head-of-state transport (UK, Italy, Japan, Norway, Poland). The AW139 is a best-selling twin-engine medium helicopter that has become a global standard across military, police, EMS and offshore roles. The AW149 is a new-generation military utility/attack helicopter that won a major Polish order and competes aggressively on export via licensed-production offers. The AW159 Wildcat is a light multi-role naval/land helicopter serving the UK and South Korean navies in ASW and surface warfare.

Kronos Radar Family and RAT-31DL

Leonardo’s radar portfolio is the technological heart of the group. Kronos is a multi-mission AESA radar family with land, naval and air-defence versions, widely fielded on Italian naval platforms and air-defence systems. The RAT-31DL is a long-range fixed/semi-mobile 3D air-surveillance radar serving early-warning roles across numerous nations in the NATO air-defence network. These systems place Leonardo alongside Thales and Hensoldt among Europe’s few independent radar makers.

Seaspray Radar Family

Seaspray is a family of lightweight AESA radars developed for maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft and helicopters. Known for detecting small surface targets and periscopes at high resolution, it equips platforms ranging from UAVs to coast-guard aircraft. Its selection on numerous U.S. and allied maritime-surveillance platforms underscores Leonardo’s strong electronics footprint in the American market.

OTO 76/62 Naval Gun and Hitfist Turret

The 76/62 naval gun, from the OTO Melara heritage, is the world’s most widely fielded medium-calibre ship gun, mounted on hundreds of warships against both surface targets and incoming missiles/aircraft. Super Rapid and guided-ammunition (DART/Strales) versions turn the gun into a modern close-in air-defence weapon. Hitfist is a 25–30 mm armed turret system for armoured fighting vehicles, fielded on the Italian Freccia and various export platforms.

Vulcano Munitions and Falco UAVs

Vulcano is a family of extended-range, precision-guided (GPS/INS, with IR/SAL terminal on some variants) munitions fired from 76 mm/127 mm naval guns and 155 mm land howitzers — bringing guided-weapon precision to artillery fire. The Falco family is Leonardo’s medium-altitude/medium-endurance ISR UAV line, with Falco EVO and Falco Xplorer variants used for border security and maritime surveillance.

Electronic Warfare, Avionics and Space

Leonardo produces self-protection suites, jammers, warning receivers and DIRCM (directed infrared countermeasures) for combat aircraft and helicopters. In space, it is positioned through two strategic joint ventures: Telespazio (satellite services) and Thales Alenia Space (satellite manufacturing) — making Leonardo a significant player in Europe’s satellite, observation and space-infrastructure ecosystem.

Which Countries Use Leonardo Systems?

Turkey Relationship

Leonardo’s deepest Turkish connection is in rotorcraft: the T129 ATAK attack helicopter, produced by Turkish Aerospace (TAI), was developed from the A129 Mangusta design of AgustaWestland — now Leonardo Helicopters. That partnership was a key step in accelerating Turkey’s attack-helicopter capability. However, the U.S.-origin content in the ATAK’s LHTEC CTS800 engine periodically created export-licence obstacles to third countries — a factor widely seen as accelerating Turkey’s push for a fully indigenous engine and the next-generation ATAK-2.

Beyond helicopters, Leonardo models such as the AW139 and AW169 are operated by various Turkish public and commercial users. At the same time, Turkey is increasingly building an indigenous ecosystem that competes directly with Leonardo’s range — the GÖKBEY (T625) helicopter, the HÜRJET advanced jet trainer, and the KAAN national fighter. Per open sources, HÜRJET is positioned as a direct rival to the M-346 in the advanced-trainer market.

Competitors

In aviation: Airbus Defence and Space, BAE Systems, Dassault Aviation, Boeing Defense and Lockheed Martin. In helicopters: Airbus Helicopters, Sikorsky (Lockheed), Bell Textron and Russian Helicopters. In radar and electronics: Thales, Hensoldt, RTX/Raytheon, Saab and Elbit Systems. In naval systems: Naval Group, Rheinmetall, BAE Systems and Thales. Leonardo’s competitive edge comes from holding indigenous capability across nearly all of these domains at once, backed by Italian state support.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths: an exceptionally broad portfolio from helicopters to radar, naval guns to space; a strong U.S. footprint (notably in electronics and trainer helicopters); founding-partner status in strategic multinational programmes such as GCAP and Eurofighter; the stability of Italian state ownership and the post-Ukraine European spending tailwind.

Weaknesses/risks: dependence on partners and political decision cycles in major platform programmes (Eurofighter, GCAP, NH90); more limited scale and R&D budget versus U.S. primes; export constraints from European licence regimes and allied policy; intense competition in helicopter and electronics markets. The group is addressing some of these limits through the Iveco Defence acquisition and U.S. growth.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which country is Leonardo from?

Leonardo is an Italian aerospace and defence company headquartered in Rome. Its single largest shareholder is the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance with roughly 30 percent, making it effectively state-controlled.

What does Leonardo make?

Helicopters (AW101, AW139, AW149, AW159), combat and training aircraft (Eurofighter partnership, GCAP, M-346, C-27J), radar and sensors (Kronos, RAT-31DL, Seaspray), naval guns (OTO 76/62), munitions (Vulcano), UAVs (Falco), electronic-warfare systems and space technology (via Telespazio and Thales Alenia Space).

Where does Leonardo rank in the defence industry?

According to SIPRI’s 2024 Top 100, Leonardo ranks 12th worldwide with $13.8 billion in arms revenue and is Europe’s second-largest defence company after BAE Systems.

Does Leonardo work with Turkey?

The best-known link is that Turkey’s T129 ATAK, built by Turkish Aerospace, is based on Leonardo’s A129 Mangusta design. AW139/AW169 helicopters are also operated in Turkey. However, Turkey is increasingly developing its own alternatives through programmes like GÖKBEY, HÜRJET and KAAN.

What is Leonardo’s most important future project?

The GCAP sixth-generation fighter, developed jointly by Italy, the UK and Japan with a 2035 target, stands out as Leonardo’s most strategic future programme.

Sources

Leonardo official press releases and FY2024/FY2025 financial results; Leonardo Annual Report; SIPRI Top 100 Arms-Producing Companies (2024); official GCAP statements; Janes Defence Weekly; Defense News; Naval News; Army Recognition.

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