LEONARDO GERMANY GMBH

Their core work

Leonardo Germany is the German subsidiary of Leonardo S.p.A., one of Europe's largest aerospace and defense companies, contributing air traffic management (ATM) and communication/navigation/surveillance (CNS) expertise to the SESAR programme. They provide specialized engineering for airport operations, runway throughput optimization, trajectory management, and integrated surveillance systems. Their work spans the full ATM technology stack — from ground-based augmentation systems (GBAS) and satellite communications to surface management and U-space drone integration. As a third-party contributor across 12 SESAR projects, they supply domain-specific technical capability that feeds into Europe's next-generation air traffic infrastructure.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the first SESAR wave (2016–2019), Leonardo Germany focused broadly on foundational ATM infrastructure: system engineering methodology, validation frameworks, runway throughput physics (wake vortex, separation, GBAS), surface management, and trajectory optimization. In the second wave (2019–2023), their focus sharpened toward integrated airport management (TAM with CDM, environmental and meteorological impact), advanced CNS systems (LDACS, SATCOM, multilink), and the emerging challenge of integrating unmanned traffic (U-space) with conventional ATM. The shift signals a move from building individual ATM components toward system-of-systems integration and next-generation airspace architecture.

Leonardo Germany is moving toward U-space/ATM integration and advanced CNS, positioning them at the intersection of manned and unmanned airspace management — a critical growth area for European aviation.

How they like to work

Leonardo Germany operates exclusively as a third-party contributor, meaning they are brought in by SESAR consortium members for their specific technical expertise rather than leading or formally partnering in projects. With 110 unique partners across 26 countries, they maintain an exceptionally broad network, suggesting they are a recognized specialist that multiple consortium leaders call upon. This third-party model means working with them is typically low-friction — they plug into existing project structures rather than driving governance.

With 110 unique consortium partners spanning 26 countries, Leonardo Germany has one of the broadest SESAR collaboration networks among third-party contributors, connecting them to virtually every major ATM player in Europe.

What sets them apart

Leonardo Germany brings the full weight of a major aerospace group's ATM and CNS expertise into SESAR projects, but operates with the agility of a specialized contributor rather than a programme-level leader. Their consistent presence across both SESAR waves — from foundational runway throughput work to U-space integration — means they carry deep institutional knowledge of how these systems evolved. For consortium builders, they offer a rare combination: large-company reliability with specialist-level depth in airport operations, surveillance, and navigation technologies.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PJ34-W3 AURA
  Their most recent and forward-looking project, tackling the critical challenge of integrating drone (U-space) traffic with conventional ATM — a defining problem for European airspace in the 2030s.
• PJ14-W2 I-CNSS
  Covers the full next-generation CNS technology stack (LDACS, SATCOM, GBAS, ADS-B, multilink), representing the communication backbone of future European air traffic management.
• PJ02 EARTH / PJ02-W2 AART
  Sustained engagement across both SESAR waves on runway throughput — from wake vortex separation to curved approaches and A-SMGCS — showing deep, multi-year expertise in airport capacity optimization.