RAF Selects Leonardo For Counter-Drone Research Program | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-06.23.25

Airborne-NextGen-06.24.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.25.25

Airborne-AffordableFlyers-06.26.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.27.25

Sat, Sep 14, 2019

RAF Selects Leonardo For Counter-Drone Research Program

Will Examine How Operators Will Be Able To Detect, Track, Identify And Defeat Rogue Drones

Leonardo has announced that it has been selected by the UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF) to support the next stage of their research and development program. The study will explore the current threat posed by hostile drones and how this is likely to evolve in future, as well as evaluating a range of technologies that could form a future RAF counter-drone capability. The program is expected to last three years and will commence in early 2020.

The threat of rogue drones has been well-publicised in recent months, with small, affordable aircraft widely-available on the open market. Most concerningly, drone technology is evolving rapidly, creating a challenge for organisations which need to secure themselves against the misuse of such aircraft. The RAF’s research programme will inform how the Air Force will respond to current and future threats and keep pace with technology over time, examining how operators will be able to detect, track, identify and defeat rogue drones.

Leonardo was chosen because of its pedigree in counter-drone technology. In 2018 and 2019, following drone sightings at Gatwick and Heathrow airports, elements of the Company’s counter-drone technology were deployed by the RAF to allow airport operations to resume. The Company offers its scalable and modular systems to military and civil customers in the UK and internationally and has already been contracted for C-UAS equipment for the Italian Army and Air Force. The RAF’s research program will draw on this experience and build on previous collaborative C-UAS research to understand and meet the threat of rogue drones.

In the long-run, the research and development program will help understand and inform requirements for a core RAF counter-drone capability, which would then be used to protect RAF Bases.

(Image provided with Leonardo Company news release)

FMI: www.leonardocompany.com

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Final Report: Douglas A-4K

Pilot Applied Full Aft Stick And Nose-Up Trim, But The Airplane Remained On The Runway Analysis: The pilot reported that a preflight inspection and flight control checks revealed n>[...]

ANN FAQ: Q&A 101

A Few Questions AND Answers To Help You Get MORE Out of ANN! 1) I forgot my password. How do I find it? 1) Easy... click here and give us your e-mail address--we'll send it to you >[...]

Classic Aero-TV: PBY Catalina--From Wartime to Double Sunrise to the Long Sunset

From 2022 (YouTube Edition): Before They’re All Gone... Humankind has been messing about in airplanes for almost 120-years. In that time, thousands of aircraft representing i>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (07.01.25): Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) A transportation system that transports people and property by air between two points in the NAS using aircraft with advanced technologies, including el>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.01.25)

Aero Linx: MQ-1B Predator The MQ-1B Predator is an armed, multi-mission, medium-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft that is employed primarily as an intelligence-col>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC