Leonardo has won 18 research and development (R&D) projects, spanning all five defence domains, predominantly aerospace, under the European Defence Fund (EDF) Work Programme 2022 (WP22).
The EDF awarded the pan-European defence company 74% of all allocated funds, about €614m ($679.3m) out of €832m.
EDF is the European Commission's flagship for promoting defence co-operation 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.
The total EDF funds are allocated by the EU, which are 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.
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.
TIRESYAS
This project 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.
Tapping into the digital transformation across defence, this European venture will make use of algorithms based on artificial intelligence.
Leonardo will co-ordinate a group of 29 European entities, including: Thales, Indra, Hensoldt, Saab and Italian entities such as CNIT and other Italian small-to-medium sized enterprises specialised in the field. The total value of the project is about €15m and will last 36 months.
ASETT
The Future Air System for European Tactical Transportation (ASETT) will analyse the specifications and market opportunities for the development of a new fixed-wing platform for military tactical transport.
The feasibility study aims to conduct analysis over the need to replace tactical transport aircraft in the fleets of EU member states in the 2030-40 period. The project will also identify opportunities for co-operative development.
Funded by EDF for €30m over 18 months, the project, led by Airbus, will involve 11 member states and 33 European partners.
ODIN'S EYE II
The multinatiOnalDevelopment INitiativefor a Space-based missile earlY-warning architecture II (ODIN’S EYE II) will contribute to the further development of the European space-based missile early-warning architecture already launched under the 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, co-ordinated by OHB System AG, involves 38 European partners, will last 36 months and have a total value of about €96m.
