Leonardo, a global aerospace and defense group, reported 2025 revenues of €19.5 billion and an order backlog of €46.6 billion. The company employs over 62,000 people worldwide, with more than 10,000 staff based in the UK, where its business is valued at approximately £3 billion.
Dr. Simon Harwood, UK Capability Development Director, oversees the company's strategy, M&A, and intellectual property. He has reframed M&A as a broader strategy of mergers, acquisitions, alliances, and partnerships, noting that AI and autonomy startups are often overvalued, making partnerships a more viable path.
Leonardo invests over £500 million annually in UK research and development. The company has partnered with Ploughshare, the UK Ministry of Defence's commercialization partner, to identify and license untapped intellectual property from Leonardo’s portfolio for civilian applications.
The company is shifting its engagement with SMEs from simple supply chain integration to strategic partnerships. This model offers startups long-term funding over four years, access to specialized testing facilities like anechoic chambers, and guidance on government demand signals for specific military technologies.
Harwood advocates for 'prototype warfare,' which involves spiral development and field testing to integrate emerging technologies into military capabilities. Leonardo focuses on six key areas, including dynamic targeting, mass via autonomy, faster decision-making, freedom of maneuver, long-range precision strikes, and UK resilience.
The company faces a manufacturing paradox: maintaining the ability to scale production rapidly from low volumes to thousands of units per week while remaining economically viable for shareholders during peacetime. Harwood notes that stockpiling equipment is a government decision, as it does not align with traditional corporate financial models.
