Leonardo Seeks Partnerships With Ukrainian Defense Companies

Italian defense giant Leonardo, through its new Kyiv-based subsidiary, is looking for opportunities to partner with Ukrainian companies, as well as for potential investments or acquisitions.

Leonardo CEO Lorenzo Mariani said this in an interview with Bloomberg.

The Italian defense giant opened its Ukrainian subsidiary, Leonardo Ukraine, in August 2026. The company is registered in Kyiv and, according to the announcement, will focus primarily on research and development (R&D) activities.

“The Ukrainian ecosystem of small and medium-sized companies and startups has both the opportunity and the ingenuity to develop highly innovative and well-tested solutions. Bringing these solutions together directly on the ground is the right way forward for further development,” Mariani said.

The Ukrainian subsidiary will also support the development of Leonardo’s Michelangelo air defense system. Mariani confirmed earlier plans to conduct the first tests in Ukraine by the end of 2026.

According to Mariani, Leonardo is already testing the system’s counter-drone component in Italy, while in Ukraine it initially plans to deploy the artillery layer of Michelangelo.

Michelangelo is already being offered to foreign customers seeking protection against drones and ballistic threats. According to Mariani, Leonardo is primarily targeting existing customers that already use the company’s sensors, as it is easier to demonstrate to them the benefits of integrating these capabilities into a broader system.

Michelangelo

The Michelangelo Dome is a prospective layered air and missile defense system being developed by Leonardo. Its concept envisions integrating radars, electro-optical sensors, electronic warfare (EW) systems, artillery, missile systems, aircraft, and space-based early-warning systems into a single network.

A key element of the system is intended to be a unified command-and-information architecture that will receive data from multiple sensors and automatically select the most suitable effector for a specific target. This approach is intended to enable more effective engagement of both individual threats and massed, coordinated attacks.

The lower tier of the Michelangelo Dome is primarily designed to counter unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and other low-altitude, low-cost targets. For this purpose, Leonardo is considering the use of 30 mm, 40 mm, and 76 mm gun systems integrated with radars, electro-optical systems, and electronic warfare capabilities.

The upper tiers of the system are intended to counter aircraft as well as cruise, ballistic, and hypersonic missiles. To achieve this, the Michelangelo Dome is planned to be integrated with radars from the KRONOS and RAT 31 families, along with other sensors and air and missile defense systems.

A dedicated space-based early-warning layer is also planned as part of the Michelangelo Dome, based on the Space Guardian satellite constellation. The first group of satellites is planned for launch in late 2027 or early 2028, with the second group scheduled for late 2028 or early 2029. Initial operational capability of the constellation is expected in 2028, with full operational capability targeted for 2029.

The satellite-based sensors are designed to detect missile launches by identifying the characteristic thermal signature of their engines and transmit the data to a ground-based command-and-control system. The latter would then refine the missile’s trajectory using radar data and task the appropriate interceptor. This architecture is intended to increase the available reaction time, particularly against ballistic and hypersonic threats.