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.

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 acquisition moves a UK-cleared sovereign crypto supplier into the ownership of a foreign state-controlled defence group, raising continuity questions about UK MoD contract relationships and the security of classified information-handling supply chains.

The Leonardo-Becrypt deal is significant for UK defence-industrial policy because Becrypt occupies a narrow, high-value niche: few commercial firms hold UK Government clearance to Top Secret level. The acquisition is structured under Italian sovereign-defence ownership, meaning the Italian state has indirect visibility of a UK Government-cleared security vendor. This is not unique in European defence consolidation — NATO allies regularly acquire each other's defence suppliers — but it introduces a layer of foreign-state interest into UK classified supply chains that UK regulators must assess under the National Security and Investment Act.