The progress of electronics in the development of innovative technologies for the nation's benefit

Recent innovations developed by Leonardo are the fruit of technological capabilities created since 1960, the legacy of companies including Microlamba, Selenia, Marconi and Elsag to name just a few. In fact the advances in electronics achieved over the years have been decisive in keeping Leonardo's technologies at the forefront. 

One highly successful solution in the context of avionics systems is ATOS (Airborne Tactical Observation and Surveillance), a mission system developed by Leonardo that integrates and manages the aircraft’s surveillance sensors, ensuring interoperability and efficiency when monitoring vast areas of land and sea. Particularly, the system enables the real-time management of information from various sensors on board the ATR 72 MP, providing operators with a complete picture of the situation. Based on the ATR 72-600 turboprop platform, the aircraft - the fruit of an Italian-French collaboration launched in the 1980s to produce regional transport aircraft for the civil market - is now flown by the Italian Air Force's 41° Stormo under the denomination P-72 A. On behalf of the Forza Azzurra it carries out maritime patrol roles and search and identification for surface shipping movements. It is also used in ecological monitoring and the fight against narcotics traffic, piracy and smuggling.

Italian Air Force ATR 72MP (P-72A)

The Mirach 100/5, a hugely successful product over recent decades, is now one of the most widely used drones in training and qualifying the weapon systems of international navies and air forces (having been adopted by as many as 16 countries). The purpose of this technology is to simulate enemy air threats during training and to assist the launch of air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles at realistic targets once these have been detected by specific sensors. The extremely realistic conditions created ensure the best possible training for operators of weapons and radar systems.  The Italian Air Force was the first to use the “drone as a service” model with the Mirach 100/5, retaining ownership of the fleet while simultaneously entrusting the management of the service to Leonardo. The Italian Air Force itself has also recently adopted the smaller Mirach 40, supplied by Leonardo on a “full service” basis.
 

Il drone bersaglio Mirach100/5

Leonardo radars and sensors are able to detect and determine the position and speed of fixed and mobile targets with extreme precision; meanwhile, multifunctional systems process data and supply other sensors with strategic information in support of command and control operations. The uses made of these solutions very widely, including defence of the airspace, land and infrastructure protection, and air traffic and weather management.
 

The company has made available its own air traffic control systems which include primary and secondary radars, operations centres based on distributed intelligence, multi-tracking systems, and communications networks with the capacity to improve situational awareness using aircraft-sourced data and integrated traffic images.

The Italian Air Force, using Leonardo-developed radar systems such as the RAT 31 DL, the KRONOS 3D Land and the ATCR 33S, has increased its surveillance capability over the national airspace while contributing to the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System (IAMD) and drone threat defence through the ACUS 2 system.

The Italian Air Force has also always assumed the leading role in Italy's meteorological sector, with its centres helping to guarantee the necessary meteorological support to the performance of missions needed by the community: from air-based operations to those on land and at sea. These are all activities to which Leonardo has contributed, over the years, with its METEOR500C radar and its weather data management systems from automatic ground-based weather stations (SWS - Standard Weather Stations).

The company has made available its own air traffic control systems which include primary and secondary radars, operations centres based on distributed intelligence, multi-tracking systems, and communications networks with the capacity to improve situational awareness using aircraft-sourced data and integrated traffic images.

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