La Spezia – Leonardo has reaffirmed its position as an integrator of complete systems for naval defense. The objective presented at Seafuture in La Spezia is clear: to offer an end-to-end capability, that is, a complete chain that starts from the sensors, goes through the command and control systems, and arrives at the effectors, meaning the weapons and response systems.
Marco Fani – head of Land & Defence Solutions – Electronics – summarizes in a chat with SHIPPING ITALY the group’s industrial and technological vision, which aims to respond to new threats with more flexible, interconnected, and intelligent solutions.
“Leonardo will continue to position itself as a provider of turnkey solutions, that is, of systems ranging from sensors to the ship’s command management system and up to the effectors – says Marco Fani –. Taking into account emerging scenarios and threats, I am speaking primarily of drones, not only aerial ones (UAV, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), but also underwater ones (USW, Underwater Systems Warfare). It is an integrated chain that is already operational today and that in the coming years will become even more central”.
The effectors, Fani explains, are the final element of the defensive chain. “Effectors are weapon systems distinguished between soft kill and hard kill. The former are electronic jammers that neutralize the threat without destroying it, while hard kill are kinetic weapons, such as the 76/62 naval gun, in service in over 60 countries. Our product offering takes into account both traditional threats and new ones, such as drones and asymmetric systems”.
Fani also highlights the growing in-house production capacity. “We are very proud of our new 30 mm weapon system, because for the first time we have designed and built it entirely in-house. Until recently we purchased it from the German company Rheinmetall (ex TK). It is an important step forward towards greater industrial and technological autonomy”.
Leonardo is present on board naval units with a wide range of systems, from command bridges to radars, from sensors to fire control apparatus. “We are present everywhere – says Fani – even though we have transferred the business line related to underwater systems to Fincantieri. We remain, however, key players as integrators of the ship system, both in the naval and land domains”.
The company’s role remains relevant also in the underwater sector, meaning in technologies for submarines. “It is true that the industrial part of the underwater systems has been transferred, but the brain of the submarine – the Combat Management System – remains a Leonardo product. It is the element that manages and coordinates all the boat’s sensors and armaments”.
A central chapter is the one on artificial intelligence. “Artificial intelligence will provide great support to operators, particularly in the classification of threats – explains Fani –. It allows for the reduction of human error and the shortening of reaction times. The new algorithms integrated into our systems are capable of automatically recognizing and classifying objects that appear in the radar or optical panorama”.
The training of artificial intelligence is another key point. “These systems must be trained with machine learning algorithms, that is, with processes that learn from data – says Fani again –.
For this reason, we are developing interfaces that allow end users to autonomously train their own systems, adapting them to the operational needs of each Navy.
Leonardo’s strategy is therefore articulated on multiple levels: consolidating internal production capacity, ensuring full integration between sensors, command and weapons, and introducing artificial intelligence technologies to increase the speed and precision of on-board decisions. “We will be present in all critical areas of the ship system – summarizes Fani – with sensors, C2 (Command and Control) systems and effectors, and with artificial intelligence as operational support.”
From Leonardo’s offering, a line consistent with the needs of contemporary naval defense emerges: more technological autonomy, greater reactivity and digital tools capable of supporting increasingly complex decisions in a rapidly changing operational context.
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