Leonardo, a leading global high-tech company in Aerospace Defence and Security, has been awarded 18 research and development projects (R&D), including ten capacitive development and eight research projects, under the European Defence Fund (EDF) WP22 (Work Program 2022). EDF is the European Commission’s flagship for promoting defence cooperation through competitive and collaborative projects, which cover the entire R&D cycle. EDF contributes to the EU’s strategic autonomy and supports the creation of a more competitive and integrated European defence technological and industrial base. In relation to cutting-edge projects and interoperable technologies and equipment, and through its promotion of innovation and SME participation. The total EDF funding amounts to 832 million euros allocated by the EU, which is then distributed among 41 winning projects, against 134 proposals submitted by companies across 26 European countries, plus Norway. Italy was awarded funding for a total of 31 projects.
Projects that Leonardo participates on won a total of about 74% of the funds allocated for WP 22, which amounts to around 614 million euros, out of a total of 832 million euros. Leonardo, with significant contributions from the Group’s subsidiaries and investees and Labs/Cloud Computing, won funding for R&D activities in 11 categories across the electronics, aircraft, cyber and space sectors, leading with the TIRESYAS (Technology Innovation for euRopEan radar SYstem ApplicationS) programme. Five additional winning projects also feature participation from companies controlled and/or participated in by Leonardo: Telespazio, Larimart, Elettronica, MBDA IT, and CREO Consortium.
Notable projects with Leonardo’s involvement include:
Technology Innovation for European radar systems Application (TIRESYAS) relates to the study of a new family of multi-domain (air-sea-land) sensors that share both architectural solutions for hardware components and software functions, in order to fulfill different missions for different application domains. This enables full advantage of the possibilities offered by digitization, which also opens the application of algorithms based on Artificial Intelligence. Leonardo will coordinate a group of 29 entities at the European level, including, Thales, Indra, Hensoldt, Saab and Italian entities such as CNIT and other Italian SMEs specialised in the field. The total value of the project is about 15 mln euros covering a duration of 36 months.
EC2 (European Command and Control System) is aimed at the development of the future strategic command and control system for the European Union (EU), which will enable the EU External Action Service to reach the level of ambition set by the Strategic Compass. The project, coordinated by Indra, involves 21 European partners and will last 24 months, with a total value of about 47 mln euros.
ASETT (Future Air System for European Tactical Transportation) will analyse the specifications and market opportunities for the development of a new fixed-wing platform for military tactical transport. The feasibility study, in particular, aims to conduct a needs analysis on the replacement of tactical transport aircraft in the fleets of EU member states in the 2030-40 horizon and identify opportunities for cooperative development. Funded by EDF for 30.06 mln euros over 18 months, the project, led by Airbus, will involve 11 member states and 33 European partners.
ODIN’S EYE II (multinatiOnalDevelopment INitiativefor a Space-based missile earlY-warning architecture II) will contribute to the further development of the European Space-based Missile Early Warning (SBMEW-Space Based Missile Early Warning) architecture already launched under EDIDP (European Defence Industrial Development Programme) in 2020. The goal of the Member States is to develop a common warning capability to respond to current and future threats to EU security. The project, coordinated by OHB System AG, involves 38 European partners, will last 36 months and have a total value of about 96 mln euros.
