Italian aerospace and defence giant contributing rotorcraft, air traffic management, security systems, and AI across 80 H2020 projects.
Leonardo (formerly Finmeccanica) is one of Europe's largest aerospace, defence, and security companies, headquartered in Rome. In H2020, they contribute advanced electronics, radar systems, rotorcraft platforms, and air traffic management technologies across 80 projects. Their work spans the full aviation value chain — from aircraft and helicopter design through SESAR air traffic modernization to cybersecurity for critical infrastructure. They also invest in emerging technologies like graphene-based materials, machine learning for aviation, and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS).
Dominant SESAR portfolio including PJ14 EECNS (coordinator, EUR 3.3M), PJ17 SWIM-TI, PJ10 PROSA, PJ18 4DTM, PJ09 DCB, and over a dozen other PJ-series projects covering trajectory management, demand-capacity balancing, and communication/navigation systems.
Major Clean Sky 2 participant with FRC GAM 2018 (EUR 14.6M fast rotorcraft), REG GAM 2018 (coordinator, EUR 18.8M regional aircraft), GAM AIR 2018, and NITROS rotorcraft safety training network.
Coordinator of ATENA for ICT-dependent critical infrastructure resilience, participant in RANGER maritime surveillance radar, TENSOR counter-terrorism content analysis, and Reaching Out disaster preparedness.
Long-term participant in the Graphene Flagship across multiple phases (GrapheneCore1, and continued presence in recent keywords), applying graphene technologies to aerospace applications.
Recent keyword cluster around artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, and high-performance computing, appearing in the second half of their project portfolio tied to aviation and defence applications.
RPAS appears as a repeated keyword in recent projects, reflecting Leonardo's push into unmanned aerial systems for both civil and defence applications.
In the early H2020 period (2014–2018), Leonardo focused heavily on aviation safety research, multimodal transport interoperability, and underwater robotics, alongside foundational work in graphene materials. From 2019 onward, their portfolio shifted decisively toward AI and machine learning applications in aviation, RPAS/drone systems, rotorcraft icing certification, and high-performance computing — reflecting a company-wide digital transformation push. The persistent presence of graphene across both periods suggests a long-term strategic bet on advanced materials for aerospace.
Leonardo is pivoting from hardware-centric aerospace engineering toward AI-augmented autonomous systems and digital air traffic infrastructure, making them a strong partner for projects combining traditional aviation with artificial intelligence.
Leonardo operates overwhelmingly as a participant (67 of 80 projects), joining large consortia rather than leading them — consistent with a major industrial company contributing specialized capabilities to multi-partner programmes. When they do coordinate (9 projects), it is typically in areas where they hold system-level authority, such as regional aircraft platforms or SESAR communication systems. With 1,132 unique consortium partners across 45 countries, they function as a network hub — almost any European aerospace or security organization has a collaboration path through Leonardo.
Leonardo has collaborated with 1,132 unique partners across 45 countries, making them one of the most connected organizations in H2020 aerospace and security research. Their network is pan-European with strong ties to SESAR Joint Undertaking members, Clean Sky partners, and the Graphene Flagship consortium.
Leonardo is the rare organization that spans the full aerospace stack — from physical platforms (helicopters, regional aircraft, drones) through the digital infrastructure that manages them (SESAR air traffic systems) to the emerging AI layer on top. Their EUR 137M in H2020 funding and 80-project portfolio make them one of the largest private-sector participants in the programme. For consortium builders, partnering with Leonardo brings not just technical depth but also access to one of Europe's widest research networks and a direct path to industrial deployment at scale.
