Leonardo

Leonardo S.p.A. is Italy's national aerospace, defence and security group, majority-owned by the Italian government via the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It operates across helicopters, aircraft, electronics systems, cyber and defence technology, and space systems, making it one of Europe's largest defence contractors. Leonardo has an active cybersecurity division that provides services to government, defence and critical infrastructure clients across Europe.

On 22 July 2026, Leonardo's joint venture with Turkey's Baykar, LBA Systems, unveiled the Astore Levante, a Bayraktar TB3-derived combat drone, at the Farnborough International Airshow, declaring the venture fully operational and putting Turkish airframe technology into production on Italian lines. The venture pairs Baykar's combat-proven airframe with Leonardo sensors, mission systems and ground control, giving Leonardo a low-cost UCAV product without an in-house clean-sheet design programme. Separately, in March 2026, Leonardo announced the acquisition of Becrypt, a UK cybersecurity firm with UK Government clearance to protect data to Top Secret classification, supplying the UK Ministry of Defence, GCHQ and other sensitive government clients; the deal was expected to close in Q2 2026, pending regulatory approvals.

The two moves pull in opposite directions on the sovereignty question. LBA Systems trades full sovereign control for speed, pooling a proven Turkish airframe with an Italian line to reach NATO buyers Ankara alone struggles to reach. The Becrypt acquisition runs the other way, moving a UK-cleared sovereign crypto supplier into the ownership of a foreign state-controlled defence group: Becrypt occupies a narrow, high-value niche few commercial firms hold, and Italian state-backed ownership gives the Italian state indirect visibility of a UK Government-cleared security vendor, raising continuity questions about UK MoD contract relationships that regulators must assess under the National Security and Investment Act. Together the two deals place Leonardo at the centre of European defence-industrial consolidation, absorbing capability by cross-border joint venture and by direct acquisition alike.