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2017-02-16

Leonardo formerly Finmeccanica, makes a strong presence at IDEX

Leonardo (formerly Finmeccanica), is a global high-tech company and one of the key players in Aerospace, Defence and Security. Headquartered in Italy, Leonardo is present in 218 sites worldwide, with a significant industrial presence in four domestic markets (Italy, the UK, the U.S. and Poland) as well as strategic partnerships in the most important high potential international markets. Giovanni Soccodato, Executive Vice President Strategy, Markets and Business Development of Leonardo shares his company’s vision and spoke about its operations in the Middle East and strong participation in the IDEX 2017.

How important is the Middle East for Leonardo and how big are your operations here?

The Middle East is of major strategic significance for Leonardo. We have offices in Abu Dhabi, Doha, Riyadh and Muscat and we have plans underway to open additional offices in other countries. Last year we won our company’s largest ever contract to supply the Eurofighter Typhoon to Kuwait and over 200 Leonardo helicopters are flown by Middle Eastern customers. In Qatar, Leonardo provides a low-level radar system for air surveillance and defence, and the country has also chosen our technologies for its new naval fleet. In the UAE, where IDEX is being held, we have a historic friendship with the country and have provided products from what we now call our Defence Systems division for many years, as well as training aircraft and naval capabilities. The depth and breadth of our organisation means that we are able to lead multi-billion contracts both technologically and commercially, and we think we have many more solutions to offer in the Middle East region.

What are you focusing on at the IDEX this year?

IDEX will be one of 2017’s most important defence expositions and we want to take full advantage of the large number of delegations attending the show, using the opportunity to see our current customers and meet potential new ones. At our IDEX stand (06-A03) visitors will be able to experience the comfort and luxury of our AW609 TiltRotor VIP cabin by visiting our full-scale mock-up and we’ll be drawing attention to our training solution for modern fast-jet pilots via a model of our M-346 aircraft. Looking at our helicopter offerings, we’ll be promoting our AW101 in CSAR and VVIP configurations, and, alongside the AW159, in its naval configuration.
We’ll be showing potential new customers our latest electronics systems including our Miysis product, an advanced Directed InfraRed Countermeasure (DIRCM) system for aircraft protection that is fully exportable to the Middle East region, as well as our Kronos radar and communications systems. Our Naval capabilities will also be represented at the IDEX stand by our Vulcano 76 and DART ammunition and by the brand new ATAS sonar, the smallest and most powerful variable-depth, towed sonar available today. At our NAVDEX stand (B35) visitors will be able to learn about the company’s next-generation naval systems. We have a long list of products on display.

Leonardo has a number of cyber security solutions to offer in areas such as anti-money laundering and payment platform. Can you give some details?

Leonardo has worked with the Middle Eastern financial sector for more than 20 years. Thanks to our experience in the Islamic banking industry, Leonardo has been chosen by many such organisations in the region. We know banking is a sector that is particularly exposed to cybercrime, with 95 percent of cyber-attacks committed against financial institutions. Fraud, software bugs, connectivity problems, data leaks and the interruption of IT systems are just some of the threats that can compromise business operations. Specifically, Leonardo provides turn-key solutions to financial institutions, analysing their needs, specifying and designing architecture and implementing the solution including on-site integration. It’s worth noting that our company’s cyber security platform can also analyse information from the ‘Dark Web’ in real time.

Two years ago, Leonardo was the technology partner at Expo 2015 Milan for security matters. Is safety for large events going to be one of the services you offer in the years to come?

Leonardo has established a reputation for successfully supporting major events, including the aforementioned Milan Expo in 2015. Recently, Leonardo provided technology services for a new stadium in the Middle East and is offering its security technology expertise for new ‘smart’ stadiums in Italy. In each project, we start by analysing risks and existing infrastructure, ensuring that Leonardo’s solutions make the best use of existing systems and practices. Our technologies then monitor the sites involved in an event, including aerial intelligence (including from unmanned vehicles), video surveillance, monitoring and analysis and smoke detection, and we also provide systems for secure communications (based on TETRA technology) alongside emergency public announcement facilities.

The Aermacchi M-345 High Efficiency Trainer (HET) is the latest military pilot trainer aircraft developed by Leonardo’s Aircraft division. Can you tell us about its global potential?

We think that our M-345HET (High Efficiency Trainer), the latest solution for basic-to-advanced pilot training, has the scope to capture a quarter of the potential basic trainer market by 2038. Compared with a turbo-prop trainer, the M-345 has the same low costs of acquisition and operation but also provides pilots with a more authentic training experience with representative speed and performance. This combination is an excellent fit for opportunities in this market, and Air Forces of other countries have expressed their interest in the aircraft. Leonardo’s aeronautics sector has a long-standing relationship with the United Arab Emirates, which chose the MB.339 trainer jet for their national aerobatic team Al Fursan. The pilots were trained in Italy, using Leonardo aircraft and teaching systems. In fact, due to the versatility of our trainer aircraft, Leonardo is able to provide an end-to-end pilot training capability.

The unique characteristics of the AW609 TiltRotor, which combines the benefits of a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft, has drawn a lot of attention. Do you think the AW609 is ideal for the Middle East whether for civilian or military use?

The revolutionary AW609 has already proven to be a success in the Middle East, particularly in the UAE where a SAR variant is expected to be introduced into service by the country’s Joint Aviation Command. In addition, we strongly believe there’s potential in the future for other commercial and government/public utility roles for the AW609 such as for transport duties. Thanks to its unique combination of vertical takeoff/landing and turboprop-like speed, altitude and range, the AW609 will allow unprecedented point-to point connection among capital cities across the Gulf Cooperation Council region. The AW609 is also ideally suited for improving transport capabilities during major international events in the area and for SAR operations.

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