September

September heralded the announcement that Leonardo is to develop the next generation Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) European Common Radar System Mark 2 (ECRS Mk2) for the RAF Typhoon, alongside BAE Systems as part of a £317m contract. The radar development will sustain over 600 highly-skilled jobs across the UK, and  will give UK Typhoons a world-leading Electronic Warfare capability, in addition to traditional radar functions, including wide band Electronic Attack.

The same month, we delivered counter-drone technology to the RAF to support its Synergia research and development programme to develop air force’s ORCUS C-UAS system. ORCUS will provide a national standby capability to support emergency services across the UK in crisis situations posed by the threat of rogue drones.

September was also a time for celebration, with Fiona Muirhead, Principal Systems Engineer at our Edinburgh site, being awarded a fellowship from the Royal Commission to support her pioneering research into radar technology. The Commission had funded flight trials that allowed Fiona to fit Leonardo’s PicoSAR radar to helicopters to gather data to help chart changes in the environment with great accuracy, which could offer vital information to environmentalists and potentially save lives by avoiding hazards such as flooding and landslides..

The same month saw the first six of the ‘SAR Queen’ AW101 Norwegian Search and Rescue Helicopters begin operations at the Sola rescue base in Norway. In the first month of service, the aircraft undertake missions in challenging weather conditions and inhospitable environments, flying for more than 80 hours.

Back in the UK, we had our walking boots on throughout the month, with colleagues first raising over £2,000 by taking part in the Virtual Kilt Walk for Harmeny Education Trust in Edinburgh. We didn’t hang them up for too long before The World in a Week, which saw Leonardo staff, friends and family clocking up nearly 25,000 miles in seven days by walking, cycling, swimming, and running in order to try and ‘circumnavigate the globe’. The tremendous efforts of everyone involved helped support the Armed Forces Para-Snowsport Team (AFPST), a charity we share a strong bond with at Leonardo.

National Inclusion Week fell at the end of September, which we marked with a series of activities for our employees to encourage greater inclusion in the workplace, whether while onsite or working from home. We hosted ‘Inclusivi-Tea’ virtual meetings for colleagues to take a break and have a chat over a cuppa throughout the week, and shared stories from our people about what it means to feel included.