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• During an exercise Italian Navy personnel trained against M-40 drones. The M-40 simulated enemy fighter jets and missile attacks;
• The M-40 provides medium-to-high performance at a price comparable with competitors’ entry-level drones, convincingly simulating a full spectrum of radar, infrared (IR) and visual threats;
• Leonardo owns and operates the M-40 on behalf of the Italian Armed Forces as a managed service. An expansion in the provision of training services has been identified in Leonardo’s 2018-2022 industrial plan as a key area of sustainable growth.
The exercise saw the aircraft carrier Cavour and its complement of AV8B+ fighter aircraft training alongside the Navy destroyer Mimbelli against M-40 drones which were simulating a range of incoming threats.
The M-40 is an unmanned air vehicle which is able to convincingly mimic a variety of aircraft and missiles. It provides medium-to-high performance at a price comparable with competitors’ entry-level drones. During the exercise, the M-40 played the part of a missile to simulate an attack against the Italian naval vessels and separately acted as a hostile enemy fighter in air-to-air combat scenarios. During these missions, the Navy personnel were able to ‘shoot down’ the reusable M-40 in realistic scenarios, allowing them to train with weapon systems including Aspide missiles.
Leonardo owns and operates the M-40 on behalf of the Italian Armed Forces, under a managed service arrangement with the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA). This exercise was the first set of missions to make use of the M-40, which is able to represent a full spectrum of radar, infrared (IR) and visual threats. Because of its lower operating costs, the M-40 was able to provide the same level of training as previous exercises at a significantly reduced cost.
Alongside the M-40, Leonardo continues to offer the Mirach 100/5, which shares a ground control station with the new M-40 and can imitate the highest-performance threats facing armed forces. During the Italian Navy exercise, the Mirach 100/5 was employed to simulate a missile attack against the naval vessels, allowing the crew to train with SM1 and Aster 15 missiles.
In addition to providing the Mirach 100/5 for a number of export customers, Leonardo has operated the target drone for 20 years under a managed service arrangement for the Italian Armed Forces. The new M-40, which is inexpensive to run and has 60 minutes endurance, is now being used to supplement this capability.
About Leonardo
Leonardo (leonardocompany.com), a global high-technology company, is among the top ten world players in Aerospace, Defence and Security and Italy’s main industrial company. Organized into five business divisions, Leonardo has a significant industrial presence in Italy, the United Kingdom, Poland and the USA, where it also operates through subsidiaries such as Leonardo DRS (defense electronics), and joint ventures and partnerships: ATR, MBDA, Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space and Avio. Leonardo competes in the most important international markets by leveraging its areas of technological and product leadership (Helicopters, Aircraft, Aerostructures, Electronics, Cyber Security and Space). Listed on the Milan Stock Exchange (LDO), in 2017 Leonardo recorded consolidated restated revenues of €11.7 billion and invested €1.5 billion in Research and Development. The Group has been part of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index since 2010.
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