Leonardo’s over 30 years of experience in the development of multifunction radar systems began with the creation of the EMPAR naval radar and the need to increase the safety of Armed Forces during demanding operations characterised by emerging threats.

These key factors  led Leonardo to develop and build the KRONOS radar family: state-of-the-art, multifunctional and multi-mission radars dedicated to land and naval air surveillance and defence.

Thanks to AESA technology (Active Electronically Scanning Array), KRONOS radars can simultaneously and automatically perform surveillance, tracking, threat assessment, and missile guidance activities against multiple threats.

As particularly high-performance systems, especially in terms of coverage, acquisition speed, and tracking continuity (even at low or very low altitudes), KRONOS radars can be used simultaneously with different surveillance functions and they are able to detect even the smallest air and naval threats, without varying their rotation speed or operating mode. They also feature a stealth configuration with a reduced radar cross-section, which makes the radar less vulnerable to offensive countermeasures.

They are available in ground-based (KRONOS GRAND, KRONOS LAND and KRONOS GROUND SHIELD) and naval versions (KRONOS NAVAL, KRONOS GRAND NAVAL and KRONOS Power Shield). At the "Formidable Shield" multinational exercise, conducted by the United States, the naval versions demonstrated their ability to accurately detect, classify and track launched ballistic missiles during the tests.

During the exercise, the KRONOS Grand Naval, which was installed on board the Italian FREMM frigate "Luigi Rizzo”, demonstrated the multifunctional capabilities that allow for multiple operational missions: aerial surveillance and missile defence against traditional airborne threats flying at all altitudes and against tactical ballistic missiles with extremely challenging speed and trajectories for modern defence systems.

To date, approximately 30 KRONOS radar systems have been delivered to the Italian market, in addition to customers in South America, the Middle East and East Asia.

Leonardo’s combat systems equip the naval units of many international Navies all over the world, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Algeria and Italy. Leonardo’s KRONOS and C4I (Command, Control, Communication, Computer and Intelligence) radar systems have proven to be the most advanced solution from an operational standpoint for naval and terrestrial integrated air and anti-missile defence, both against cruise and ballistic missiles.