Manufacturer catalog

Leonardo

Leonardo is Italy's major aerospace, defence, and security group, formerly Finmeccanica, whose cataloged systems span helicopters, trainer aircraft, multirole fighters, and defense electronics.

10 weapons

Leonardo is Italy's major aerospace, defence, and security group, headquartered in Rome and active across helicopters, aircraft, aerostructures, electronics, cyber, and space. The catalog page groups cataloged systems that appear under Leonardo and its predecessor brands, including legacy Finmeccanica-era aircraft lines.

The company was established in 1948 as Finmeccanica and later adopted the Leonardo name. That lineage matters for the catalog because older designations, joint-venture names, and current Leonardo pages often describe the same industrial family of aircraft and defense systems.

HelicoptersMilitary aircraftTrainer aircraftElectronics and sensorsAerostructures

Notable Systems

AW-109

Light twin-engine attack and utility helicopter

Cataloged Leonardo and AgustaWestland light helicopter family that represents the group's rotorcraft lineage.

Sources: Leonardo AW109 GrandNew

Eurofighter Typhoon

Twin-engine multirole combat aircraft

Cataloged consortium multirole fighter with Leonardo as one of the industrial partners and a major electronics contributor.

Sources: Leonardo Eurofighter Typhoon

Panavia Tornado

Twin-engine variable-sweep wing multirole strike aircraft

Cataloged tri-national strike aircraft family that appears in Leonardo's heritage and development history.

Sources: Leonardo Tornado ECR

SF-260

Trainer and light attack aircraft

Cataloged Italian trainer and light attack aircraft that continues the Aermacchi line under Leonardo.

Sources: Leonardo SF-260 history article

Manufacturer History

1948-03-18
Finmeccanica founded
Leonardo's 75th-anniversary material says the company was established on 18 March 1948 under the name Finmeccanica.
Sources: Leonardo 1948-1959, Leonardo Italy
2018-04-01
Leonardo name adopted
Leonardo's UK heritage page says the company was rebranded from Finmeccanica to Leonardo from 1 April 2018.
Sources: Leonardo UK heritage, Leonardo history
2026-05-07
Current shareholding context published
Leonardo's 2026 shareholders' meeting materials identify the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance as holding around 30.204% of the company's share capital.
Sources: Leonardo composition, Leonardo shareholders' meeting 2026

Predecessors

Finmeccanica

Website links

Leonardo home Leonardo history Leonardo contacts Leonardo investors Leonardo Italy

Leonardo is the current name of Finmeccanica, so older brand references are retained as aliases and predecessor context. The profile keeps the public record focused on sourced corporate history and cataloged product families rather than conflict-use claims.

Manufacturer Sources

Leonardo homePublisher: Leonardo | Note: Supports Leonardo's current public-facing identity and broad aerospace, defence, and security positioning. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
Leonardo ItalyPublisher: Leonardo | Note: Supports Leonardo's Italy-based industrial role and the company's statement that it has been active since 1948. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
Leonardo historyPublisher: Leonardo | Note: Supports the former Finmeccanica name and the modern Leonardo rebrand context. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
Leonardo 1948-1959Publisher: Leonardo | Note: Supports the 1948 founding of Finmeccanica and the company's initial industrial structure. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
Leonardo UK heritagePublisher: Leonardo in the UK | Note: Supports the announced rebrand from Finmeccanica to Leonardo from 1 April 2018. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
Leonardo contactsPublisher: Leonardo | Note: Supports the registered head office address at Piazza Monte Grappa 4 in Rome, Italy. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
Leonardo compositionPublisher: Leonardo | Note: Supports the Ministry of Economy and Finance ownership context and the approximately 30.204% shareholding figure. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
Finmeccanica sede centralePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports the geotagged Piazza Monte Grappa headquarters site and the map center used for the Leonardo profile location field. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
Leonardo shareholders' meeting 2026Publisher: Leonardo | Note: Supports the 7 May 2026 meeting at Leonardo's headquarters in Rome and the current corporate-reference context. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
Leonardo AW109 GrandNewPublisher: Leonardo Helicopters | Note: Supports the AW109 GrandNew helicopter family and Leonardo's rotorcraft product line. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
Leonardo Eurofighter TyphoonPublisher: Leonardo Aeronautics | Note: Supports Leonardo's role in the Eurofighter Typhoon programme and the aircraft's combat-aircraft background. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
Leonardo Tornado ECRPublisher: Leonardo | Note: Supports Leonardo's Tornado heritage, including the ECR and development context tied to the tri-national programme. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
Leonardo SF-260 history articlePublisher: Leonardo | Note: Supports the SF-260 family history, the 900th delivery milestone, and Leonardo's continuing Aermacchi lineage. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
AW109 GrandNew.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and CC BY-SA 4.0 licensing for the AW109 GrandNew photo used on the builder profile. | Accessed: 2026-06-21

Produced weapons

M-346, Advanced jet trainer / lead-in fighter trainer, Aircraft & UAVs

2015 Various ConflictsM-346Advanced jet trainer / lead-in fighter trainerBuilt in: ItalyThe Leonardo M-346 is an Italian twin-engine advanced jet trainer and lead-in fighter trainer already in service with several air forces. Its M-346FA derivative adds radar, seven external hardpoints, and a light-combat mission set for air policing, close air support, air interdiction, and tactical reconnaissance.

AW-109, Light twin-engine attack and utility helicopter, Aircraft & UAVs

2017 Battle of Marawi, 2009 Boko Haram InsurgencyAW-109Light twin-engine attack and utility helicopterBuilt in: ItalyThe AW-109 is a three-tonne light twin-engine helicopter family built by AgustaWestland and Leonardo. Armed and utility AW109 variants are documented in Philippine close-support and reconnaissance missions at Marawi and in Nigerian Air Force Operation Lafiya Dole mobility, patrol, evacuation, and support missions during the Boko Haram insurgency.

Tempest, sixth-generation crewed combat aircraft programme, Aircraft & UAVs

Tempestsixth-generation crewed combat aircraft programmeBuilt in: United Kingdom / Italy / JapanTempest is the UK name for the crewed fighter at the centre of the Global Combat Air Programme, a UK-Italy-Japan effort to develop a next-generation stealth combat aircraft with digital engineering, advanced sensing, and networked future-air-system roles. The programme is not fielded in combat, so this draft records programme identity and development context without conflict-use claims.

SF-260, Trainer and light attack aircraft, Aircraft & UAVs

1978 Chadian-Libyan Conflict, 1983 Sri Lankan Civil War +2 moreSF-260Trainer and light attack aircraftBuilt in: ItalyThe SF-260 is an Italian trainer and light attack aircraft designed by Stelio Frati and built by SIAI-Marchetti and later Aermacchi/Leonardo. Its conflict record ranges from Libyan-operated and Chadian-captured SF.260s in the Chadian-Libyan conflict to Sri Lankan close-air-support use, Chadian government ground attacks, and Philippine Air Force SF-260 attacks during Marawi.

Eurofighter Typhoon, Twin-engine multirole combat aircraft, Aircraft & UAVs

2011 First Libyan Civil War, 2014 War Against the Islamic State +2 moreEurofighter TyphoonTwin-engine multirole combat aircraftBuilt in: United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and SpainThe Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta multirole fighter developed by the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Spain and built through Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo workshares. Cataloged conflict use spans RAF no-fly-zone, reconnaissance, and strike missions over Libya, coalition strike and ISR missions against the Islamic State, Red Sea strikes on Houthi military targets, and Royal Saudi Air Force combat missions in Yemen.

Panavia Tornado, Twin-engine variable-sweep wing multirole strike aircraft, Aircraft & UAVs

1990 Gulf War, 1999 Kosovo War / Operation Allied Force +6 morePanavia TornadoTwin-engine variable-sweep wing multirole strike aircraftBuilt in: Germany / United Kingdom / ItalyThe Panavia Tornado is a UK-German-Italian variable-sweep combat aircraft family developed for low-level strike, interdiction, reconnaissance, electronic-combat, and air-defense roles. Tornado variants saw direct combat use from the 1990 Gulf War through Kosovo, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, the anti-Daesh campaign, the 2018 Syria strikes, and Saudi-led coalition operations in Yemen.

Vulcano-GLR, guided long-range artillery and naval gun ammunition, Munitions

2014 Russia-Ukraine WarVulcano-GLRguided long-range artillery and naval gun ammunitionBuilt in: Italy / GermanyVulcano-GLR is the guided long-range branch of the Leonardo and Diehl Defence Vulcano ammunition family, covering 155 mm land-artillery rounds and 127 mm naval-gun rounds with inertial, satellite, and optional terminal seeker guidance. Ukraine-linked sourcing supports the 155 mm projectile in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War through German-announced and later tracked deliveries.

OTO 76/62 Super Rapid naval gun, 76 mm rapid-fire naval gun mount, Naval Systems

2014 Russia-Ukraine WarOTO 76/62 Super Rapid naval gun76 mm rapid-fire naval gun mountBuilt in: ItalyThe OTO 76/62 Super Rapid is Leonardo's Italian 76 mm naval gun mount for corvettes, frigates, patrol vessels, and other surface combatants. It combines a selectable 120-round-per-minute rate of fire, an 80-round ready magazine, anti-surface and air-defense roles, optional Strales/DART guided-ammunition integration, and compact installation on small naval units. Its 2014 Russia-Ukraine War link is Ukraine's Ada-class corvette program: Naval News identified a Leonardo 76 mm Super Rapid fitted to Hetman Ivan Mazepa during sea trials in Turkiye while the corvette project remained shaped by wartime transfer constraints.

OTO Melara 127/54 Compact naval gun, 127 mm automatic naval gun mount, Naval Systems

2011 First Libyan Civil WarOTO Melara 127/54 Compact naval gun127 mm automatic naval gun mountBuilt in: ItalyThe OTO Melara 127/54 Compact is an Italian 127 mm automatic naval gun mount for frigates and destroyers, using a water-cooled 54-caliber barrel, automatic ammunition handling, and 66 ready-use rounds in three selectable drums. It served across Italian and export surface combatants and later formed part of Leonardo's Vulcano V-kit upgrade path for ships retaining the previous 127/54 C gun.

OTO 127/64 LW Vulcano, 127 mm lightweight naval gun system, Naval Systems

OTO 127/64 LW Vulcano127 mm lightweight naval gun systemBuilt in: ItalyThe OTO 127/64 LW Vulcano is Leonardo's Italian 127 mm lightweight naval gun system for large and medium warships, combining a 64-caliber gun mount, automated ammunition handling, combat-management integration, and compatibility with standard 127 mm ammunition as well as Vulcano extended-range rounds.