Leonardo will invest 300 million to relaunch the plants in the South

Leonardo is working on the relaunch of the Aerostructures division with a new investment plan of 300 million euros and is concentrating on expanding the production base of the Grottaglie (Taranto) site, currently the most impacted by the consequences of the pandemic on civil aviation.

Solar-powered drone

The news is that Grottaglie will take care of the solar-powered drone. It will be the first programme that could kick-start the diversification of the production of the plant which, from the start in 2006 to the current situation, has built only two sections of the carbon fiber fuselage of the Boeing 787.

To reduce the single client, the industrial activity of prototypes of the solar-powered drone has started already in Grottaglie. In Grottaglie there was the second visit, in the last three months, by the top management of Skydweller.

Solar Impulse 2, Skydweller Aero

Leonardo, very active in technology and innovation in autonomous flight, has invested in Skydweller Aero

Skydweller is the Spanish-American startup engaged in the development of the first solar-powered drone capable of carrying a high payload, with almost unlimited persistence in flight, based on the Solar Impulse 2 aircraft that had travelled around the world in 2016.

Leonardo, very active on the fronts of technology and innovation in autonomous flight, has recently invested in Skydweller Aero.

An innovative aerial platform

Leonardo has a shareholding in this company as well as being a technological partner of the project. Skydweller is conceived as an innovative aerial platform.

It combines unprecedented persistence and range with the flexibility typical of a remotely piloted aircraft. It will be able to travel at a cruising speed of 25-50 knots and a maximum altitude of 14,000 metres. 

Drone applications

The wings covered by approximately 270 square metres of photovoltaic cells will generate the power needed to ensure unlimited flight of the aircraft and significant payloads. 

Possible uses of the drone include land and sea surveillance, environmental and infrastructure monitoring, geo-information services, telecommunications, and precision navigation.

Updating programs, plants, and production

In addition to Skydweller, the Tarantino plant has been included in the “European Male Rpas” programme

As for the 300 million plan for all Aerostructures whose plants are in the South: Pomigliano D'Arco, Nola, Foggia, and Grottaglie, it is aimed at consolidating the centrality of the business through the technological updating of programs, and plants, and production processes.

Furthermore, in addition to Skydweller, the Tarantino plant has been included in the “European Male Rpas” programme also known as Eurodrone which involves industries from France, Spain, Germany, and Italy. 

Carbon fibre wings

In Grottaglie, in particular, the carbon-fibre wings of the remotely piloted aircraft will be produced. 

And again in Grottaglie, the new MaTeRIA Lab (Materials Technology Research and InnovAtion Lab) took shape for the study of advanced materials as well as the new Joint Lab between Leonardo and the Solvay group.

New 2022 investments

The new investments are the prospect for overcoming 2022 which still promises to be difficult due to the consequences of the pandemic while the recovery is in sight in 2023. A procedure for the use of layoffs for a total of 3,500 employees is in place on the part of the company. in Aerostructures, of which 1,049 in Grottaglie.

At the cash desk, Leonardo arrives after having managed part of 2020 and all of 2021 without an hour of cig but using a mix of alternative solutions agreed with the union: provision of hours, professional training, collective closures concentrated in the periods of holidays, demonetisation of midweek holidays. 

Delivery of AW169M LUH helicopters

Long periods of inactivity in Grottaglie, a site that has so far produced over 1,100 fuselage sections of the 787. Meanwhile, Leonardo announced a supply of AW169M LUH (Light Utility Helicopter) helicopters for the Austrian Ministry of Defence. 

The contract, worth 346 million euros, was signed as part of the Italy-Austria Government-to-Government (G2G) agreement aimed at strengthening bilateral collaboration between the two countries and defining a strategic partnership in the field of the helicopter.