Leonardo Showcases High-Tech, Innovative Multidomain Defence Solutions at DSEI Japan

Italian heavyweight, Leonardo will be showcasing wide-range technologies, products and systems for the aerospace, defence and security domains and DSEI Japan this coming March 14-15.

The key highlight of the showcase from the Company is GCAP, the Global Combat Air Programme, the mission to create a sixth-generation combat aircraft which will be at the heart of a future system of systems. This innovative project will see Leonardo play a core role within the transformational collaboration between Italy, Japan and the UK.

Director Global Combat Air Programme, Leonardo, Guglielmo Maviglia said: “GCAP is the standard bearer for the technological revolution that will characterise our sector over the next 50 years. It will protect and strengthen the technological and industrial sovereignty of the partner countries, ensure prosperity, safeguard distinctive skills, create employment and boost competitiveness.

“It will be a great challenge, because the aircraft will form the heart of a multi-domain system of systems, with the core platforms and other assets interconnected as part of an integrated whole. Elements of the system will range from unmanned platforms to advanced weapons, able to communicate across the five domains: land, sea, air, cyber and space”.

Battle Lab

Meanwhile, in Leonardo’s “Battle Lab”, the study and evaluation of the future sixth-generation air combat system is already underway, with enabling technologies being developed and tested. To support this, Leonardo has created a cutting-edge environment that combines physical systems, synthetic and immersive reality.

The aim is to validate new operational concepts well before a demonstrator or flying prototype will become available. The digital simulator reproduces what a sixth-generation fighter cockpit could look like, where only the stick and throttle of an aircraft are “physical” and everything is virtual/using augmented reality.

This revolutionary interface will provide the pilot with an immersive experience when operating the fighter of the future.

Fixed Wing and Helicopter

Also on show, Leonardo’s M-346, an aircraft that enables trainee pilots to develop the knowledge, skills and procedures to transition to modern combat aircraft. The M-346 is at the centre of the new International Flight Training School (IFTS), created by Leonardo and the Italian Air Force and chosen by the Japan Air Self-Defence Force to train its student pilots. An internationally recognised centre of excellence, the IFTS has also been chosen by the air forces of Qatar, Germany and Singapore – among others – and selected as the flagship campus for the NATO Flying Training in Europe (NFTE) project.

Representing Leonardo’s range of helicopters at DSEI Japan is the AW139M multi-mission helicopter, the military version of the well-known AW139. It is the ideal platform for government and military missions, in all weather and environmental conditions. Combining advanced technology and high power, the AW139M performs a wide range of missions including theatre support, tactical troop transport, logistics support, close support, firefighting, command and control, medical evacuation, combat search and rescue (CSAR), maritime patrol and homeland security.

EW Showcase

Leonardo is a global player in the defence electronics sector and will be promoting a number of advanced products relevant to the Asia-Pacific market at DSEI Japan. One key capability is the BriteCloud active expendable decoy.

BriteCloud is unique in the combat air countermeasure market, packing latest-generation DRFM jamming technology into a compact expendable that can be launched from standard countermeasure dispensers. Unlike traditional chaff and flares, BriteCloud employs a sophisticated on-board electronic warfare capability designed to counter radar-guided threats.

Also, in the field of countermeasures, Leonardo’s Miysis DIRCM (Directed InfraRed Counter Measure) is proven to provide gold-standard protection against infrared (IR) ‘heat-seeking’ missiles, such as those launched by Man-Portable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS). Drawing on the company’s decades of DIRCM heritage, the Miysis system’s speed and energy enables it to defeat multiple, simultaneous incoming missiles. Multiple NATO and non-NATO users have selected Miysis for its ability to defeat latest-generation threats.

Also, on display are fixed and mobile multi-domain radars (air, land, sea) incorporating AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) technology, used for surveillance and defence tasks. These radars can detect, classify and track multiple targets simultaneously.

IFF (Identification Friend/Foe) systems allow crew to recognise friendly forces in real time, through an exchange of encrypted signals, and identify potential threats. This technology, in which Leonardo is a global leader, has already been chosen for the Japan Ground Self Defence Forces. Finally, Leonardo will be presenting the Vulcano family of ammunition at DSEI Japan, including the 155mm calibre land version and 127mm naval variant.

Leonardo has been present Japan for over 40 years, during which time more than 160 helicopters having been chosen by the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force, the Japan Coast Guard and departments conducting firefighting and SAR (search and rescue) missions. –shp/ldo/aaa (Image: Leonardo)