Strong Emphasis on Naval Systems Capability and New Training Aircraft

At LAAD 2019 in Rio de Janeiro this week, Leonardo will be emphasising the breadth of its product and solution offerings for defence and security markets.

From the new TAMANDARE-class corvettes for the Brazilian Navy, through modernisation of other naval vessels to requirements for helicopters for naval use (in which Leonardo offers the AW109 and AW119) as well as for police, public safety and training missions, the company is already at work on contracts to extend logistical support for the AMX aircraft and for delivery of modernised SUPER LYNX Mk21B helicopters for the Navy.

Active in Brazil since the 1970s, Leonardo features a distinctive industrial presence and consolidated partnerships in all its sectors of activity. The company has over 200 helicopters in service in Brazil, which is the base for one of its largest logistics support centres, providing technical assistance, spares, maintenance and repairs to customers across South America. Brazil represents the company’s premier helicopter market in Latin America.

From an avionics perspective, Brazil has over 150 Leonardo radars on board in-service platforms. including the AMX, F-5, KC-390, P95, and SUPER LYNX Mk21B. The company also supplies some 60% of the avionics for the Brazilian Air Force’s (FAB) new GRIPEN E aircraft, including the RAVEN radar, the SKYWARD-G infra-red search and track passive targeting system and the new Mode-5 capable identification friend/foe systems. Together, these electronics provide the aircraft with a superior intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and target acquisition facility for intelligence gathering, combined with an advanced target detection, acquisition and tracking capability. Leonardo has also supplied Brazil with military air traffic control radars.

Building on the success of the AMX programme, Leonardo is today examining the opportunity to equip the FAB with a new-generation training aircraft and system, a sector in which the company offers excellent solutions such as the M-346 aircraft and its associated ground based training system.

Also active in the field of environmental and territorial safety with meteorological radars operated by the national monitoring and alerting centre for natural disasters, Leonardo, with its subsidiary Telespazio Brasil, provides satellite services for communications, environmental monitoring in the Amazon, and support for agriculture and defence.

In response to emergency public security initiatives that the government is defining, Leonardo has started discussions with local institutions on the technical solutions it is able to offer.

Finally, new prospects include the naval sector, (in which the company has previously worked on modernisation programmes for the NITEROI-class frigates and the BARROSO corvettes), terrestrial and satellite communications for the army, and remotely piloted systems.