During the Euronaval exhibition held in Paris this October, asianmilitaryreview.com sat down with Leonardo’s head of defence systems to discuss their latest projects in the Asia-Pacific region.
Leonardo’s business is currently focused on their Italian domestic market (70 percent), while only approximately a third (30 percent) of the firm’s products are being exported, Gianpiero Lorandi, the company’s head of defence systems, revealed. In the future, Leonardo is working to invert this trend, and the Asia-Pacific is one of the key regional markets the company is examining.
In Australia, Leonardo is currently one of the three companies, with Navantia and BAE Systems, which are competing to provide the Royal Australian Navy’s Future Frigate requirement, also known as the SEA-5000 programme. Meanwhile, for the Republic of Korea’s modernisation of its ‘Gwanggaeto the Great’ class destroyers, Leonardo is actively promoting its Vulcano ammunition for the upgrade of the vessel’s OTO Melara/Leonardo 127mm gun: “All the systems needed to operate Vulcano 127mm ammunition are integrated into the gun’s control console and no mechanical modification to the 127/64 LW gun is required”, indicates Leonardo’s technical publications.
In the Philippines, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), which signed the contract for the construction of two 2600 ton frigates for the Philippine Navy on 24 October, has partnered with Leonardo for the latter’s lightweight 76/62 Super Rapid Gun Mount. The company is also actively promoting the same gun for the Pakistan Navy’s new frigates.
