Leonardo has been proudly working with Japan for over 40 years
A key highlight is the collaboration under the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP)
GCAP will strengthen the partnership between Leonardo and Japanese industry
Leonardo takes part in DSEI Japan (Tokyo, 15-17 March 2023 – stand H7-300), a major event in the defense sector in the Asia-Pacific region, and will present technologies, products and systems for aerospace, defense and security. An important project highlighted is GCAP, the Global Combat Air Programme, the mission of creating a sixth generation combat aircraft that will be the centerpiece of the future system of systems. This new project will see Leonardo play an important role in the renewal of collaboration between Italy, Japan and the UK.
Leonardo has been in Japan for more than 40 years, where more than 160 helicopters have been selected by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Japan Coast Guard and departments that conduct firefighting and SAR (search and rescue) missions. .
With an office in Tokyo, Leonardo is proud to have developed strong relationships with Japanese customers and industries over the years that go beyond the simple supply of products and services. Today, these close collaborations include partnerships and licensing agreements with Japanese industrial partners such as Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Electric, Japan Radio Corporation and Japan Steel Works. In addition, Leonardo collaborates in the country with repair, maintenance and repair centers, distributors, dealers and advocates to provide rapid responses for Japanese customers.
At DSEI Japan, the focus of attention is GCAP, the program to develop a sixth generation fighter jet. This project, which will see Italy, Japan and the UK working together across government and industry, includes Leonardo as a strategic partner. GCAP will see Leonardo strengthen its strategic presence in Japan and represent one of the most anticipated international projects for the aerospace, defense and security industry.
Guglielmo Maviglia, Director of the Global Combat Air Program, Leonardo, said: “GCAP is the standard bearer for the technological revolution that will characterize our sector for the next fifty years. It will protect and strengthen the technology and industrial sovereignty of partner countries, ensuring prosperity, protecting unique skills, creating jobs and improving competitiveness. This will be a great challenge, because the aircraft will form the heart of a multi-domain that system of systems, whose core platforms and other assets are interconnected as part of an integrated whole. System elements from unmanned platforms to advanced weapons, are able to communicate in five domains : land, sea, air, cyber and space”.
One of the key roles played by Leonardo within the GCAP program is related to the development of the sixth generation tactical sense. This domain is called ISANKE & ICS (Integrated Sensing and Non-Kinetic Effects & Integrated Communications System). Leonardo of the UK and Italy developed ISANKE & ICS in collaboration with Mitsubishi Electric of Japan and Elettronica of Italy. The new approach moves away from the traditional combat air model of individual airborne sensors to instead provide a fully integrated sensing, fusion and self-protection capability that removes the spider’s web of sensing and effecting nodes in each platform.
Meanwhile, in Leonardo’s “Battle Lab”, the study and evaluation of the future sixth-generation air combat system has already begun, with technologies that may have been developed and tested. To support this, Leonardo created a cutting-edge environment that combines physical systems, synthetic and immersive reality. The purpose is to validate new operational concepts before using a demonstrator or flying prototype. The digital simulator reproduces what a sixth generation fighter cockpit looks like, where only the stick and throttle of an airplane are “physical” and everything else is virtual/using augmented reality. This revolutionary interface will give the pilot an immersive experience when operating the fighter of the future.
Also on display, Leonardo’s role in aircraft development and training services is represented by the M-346, an aircraft that enables trainee pilots to develop knowledge, skills and techniques to transfer to modern combat aircraft. The M-346 is at the center of the new International Flight Training School (IFTS), created by Leonardo and the Italian Air Force and selected by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force to train student pilots. An internationally recognized center of excellence, IFTS has also been chosen by the air forces of Qatar, Germany and Singapore – among others – and has been chosen as the flagship campus for the NATO Flying Training in Europe (NFTE) project. The M-346 platform is a fully integrated advanced training system. It includes a complete system of simulators and ground training equipment, as well as a fully operational Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) environment developed in-house by Leonardo. The M-346 prepares future combat air pilots to face the most complex and difficult operational scenarios they will face while operating current and future generation fighters.
Representing Leonardo’s range of helicopters at DSEI Japan is the AW139M multi-mission helicopter, the military version of the well-known AW139. It is the ideal platform for government and military missions, in all weather conditions and environments. Combining advanced technology and high power, the AW139M performs a wide range of missions including theater support, tactical troop transport, logistics support, close support, fire fighting, command and control. , medical evacuation, combat search and rescue (CSAR), maritime and homeland patrol. security.
Leonardo is a global player in the defense electronics sector and will promote several advanced products relevant to the Asia Pacific market at DSEI Japan. A key capability is BriteCloud’s active decoy. BriteCloud is unique in the combat air countermeasure market, packaging the latest generation DRFM jamming technology into a compact expendable that can be launched from a standard countermeasure dispenser. Unlike traditional chaff and flare, BriteCloud uses a sophisticated on-board electronic warfare capability designed to counter radar-guided threats. Also, in the field of countermeasures, Leonardo’s Miysis DIRCM (Directed Infra-Red Counter Measure) has proven to provide gold-standard protection against infrared (IR) ‘heat-seeking’ missiles, such as those launched by Man -Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS). Drawing on the company’s decades of DIRCM heritage, the speed and power of the Miysis system enables it to defeat multiple, simultaneously incoming missiles. Many NATO and non-NATO users have chosen Miysis for its ability to defeat the latest generation of threats.
Also, on display are fixed and mobile multi-domain radars (air, land, sea) that include AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) technology, used for surveillance and defense tasks. These radars can detect, classify and track multiple targets simultaneously.
IFF (Identification Friend/Foe) systems allow crews to identify friendly forces in real time, by exchanging encrypted signals, and identify potential threats. This technology, in which Leonardo is a global leader, has already been selected for the Japan Ground Self Defense Forces. Finally, Leonardo will present the Vulcano family of ammunition at DSEI Japan, including a 155mm caliber land version and a 127mm naval variant. The unguided munition follows a conventional ballistic trajectory with a range of up to 70km, while the range of the guided versions reaches 100km.
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