Leonardo wants a front-row seat to Ukraine's defense-tech boom, and it now has one. The company's Kyiv arm will source partnership, investment or acquisition opportunities on the ground. CEO Lorenzo Mariani, speaking at the Ambrosetti Forum near Como, Italy, praised Ukraine's network of small and midsize firms and startups for producing "particularly innovative, particularly tested solutions," adding, "Collecting them directly on the ground is the right way to move forward."
For Michelangelo, Leonardo's layered air-defense system, the first test in Ukraine is planned before the end of the year, starting with an artillery-based layer, while Italy hosts trials of the counter-drone piece. Leonardo is already pitching Michelangelo to export buyers that need protection against drones and ballistic threats. The initial focus is on customers that already use Leonardo sensors, since the integration case is clearer to them. As Mariani put it: "We are doing it starting from those export customers that we know have a requirement." He added, "If we approach a customer that already knows our sensors, it will be easier to explain that these sensors, once inserted into an architecture as complex but particularly effective as Michelangelo, are more productive, more useful and more effective."
Mariani, appointed earlier this year and formerly an MBDA executive, is leaning on partnerships and industrial tie ups to build European defense capacity at a moment when the trans Atlantic alliance looks weaker. He argues Europe can rival US systems when countries pool resources and harmonize procurement. His example: the latest SAMP/T from Eurosam, a joint venture of MBDA and Thales, which he called "no less effective than the US Patriot." Illustrating that approach, Leonardo is teaming with Germany's Rheinmetall AG on ground systems and also collaborating with Turkey's Baykar on unmanned aircraft. According to Mariani, the company remains willing to form additional partnerships when they can accelerate spending or rebuild capabilities Europe previously lacked.
Mariani also detailed the schedule for Bromo, a space initiative being set up alongside Airbus SE and Thales SA. "If we manage to have a streamlined procedural process, by the middle of next year we could already start work, with the objective of making the structure fully operational as of Jan. 1, 2028," he said. The project, under European regulatory review, is meant to build cross border scale in space and narrow Europe's satellite communications gap with the US as SpaceX's dominance grows.
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Why it matters: Leonardo is wiring itself into Ukraine's innovation pipeline, moving a new air-defense system toward field use, and pushing a European champion in space. If you keep an eye on defense and satellite suppliers, the next wave of contracts and partnerships might not land where they used to.
