Leonardo

Nuclear Weapon Producers

Leonardo has a 25% stake in the MBDA joint venture, which produces missiles for the French nuclear arsenal. Leonardo also provides electric propulsion components for the U.S. Columbia Class nuclear armed submarines.

Nuclear Weapons |  Investment

Company Profile

Leonardo, based in Italy, develops products and services in the fields of aerospace, defence and security.[i] Leonardo has a 25% stake in the MBDA joint venture, which produces missiles for the French nuclear arsenal.[ii] Leonardo also provides electric propulsion components for the U.S. Columbia Class nuclear armed submarines. In the financial year ending 31 December 2023, Leonardo generated revenues of €15.3 billion.[iii]

[i] Profile (no date) | Leonardo. Available at: https://www.leonardocompany.com/en/about-us/profile (Accessed: 9 December 2024).

[ii]  Succès du tir de qualification du missile air-sol moyenne portée amélioré (ASMPA) rénové, sans charge militaire. Direction Générale de l’armement – Ministère des Armées (2022).  Available at: https://www.defense.gouv.fr/dga/actualites/succes-du-tir-qualification-du-missile-air-sol-moyenne-portee-ameliore-asmpa-renove-charge;

About Us (no date) | MBDA Systems. Available at: https://www.mbda-systems.com/about-us/ (Accessed: 9 December 2024).

[iii] ‘2023 Annual Report Summary’, Leonardo (2024), p. 6. Available at: LDO_2023AnnualReportSummary_ENG.pdf.

Contact information

Leonardo SpA

Registered Head Office:

Piazza Monte Grappa n. 4,
00195 Roma

Italy

Website: Aerospace, Defence and Security | Leonardo

X: @Leonardo_live

LinkedIn: Leonardo | LinkedIn

 

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Nuclear weapons

MBDA, in which Leonardo has a 25% stake, is the prime contractor for ASMPA nuclear missiles for the French arsenal.[i] MBDA is also involved in developing the new ASN4G replacement for the ASMPA.[ii] The new weapon is scheduled to enter service in 2035 with range exceeding 1,000km, double that of the ASMPA,[iii] and will incorporate new hypersonic technologies.[iv]

Leonardo also provides the integrated electric propulsion components for the U.S. Navy’s Columbia-class submarine, for which it was awarded contracts valued at over $1 billion and $3 billion in April 2023 and January 2024 respectively.[v]

[i] ASMPA (no date) | MBDA. Available at: https://www.mbda-systems.com/product/asmpa/ (Accessed : 9 December 2024); ‘Projet annuel de performances. Budget général. Projets Annuels de Performances. Annexe au Projet de Loi de Finances pour 2025: Programme 146. Équipement des forces’, RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE (2024), p. 37. Available at: https://www.budget.gouv.fr/documentation/file-download/24758.

[ii] Ibid, p. 35.

[iii] Hans M. Kristensen, Matt Korda, and Eliana Johns, ‘French Nuclear Weapons, 2023’, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 79:4, 272-281, p. 276. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00963402.2023.2223088;
‘​The ASN4G Hypersonic Missile for the Rafale Fighter Will Replace the ASMP-A Missile by 2035’, Defense Express, 15 March 2023. Available at: ​The ASN4G Hypersonic Missile for the Rafale Fighter Will Replace the ASMP-A Missile by 2035 | Defense Express (defence-ua.com).

[iv] Hans M. Kristensen, Matt Korda, and Eliana Johns, ‘French Nuclear Weapons, 2023’, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 79:4, 272-281, p. 276. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00963402.2023.2223088;

‘RAPPORT D’INFORMATION DÉPOSÉ en application de l’article 145 du Règlement PAR LA COMISION DE LA DÉFENSE NATIONALE ET DES FORCES ARMÉES portant recueil d’auditions de la commission sur la dissuasion nucléaire’, ASSEMBLÉE NATIONALE (2023). Available at: Rapport d'information n°1112 - 16e législature - Assemblée nationale (assemblee-nationale.fr).

[v] Leonardo DRS Receives Over $1 Billion to Support U.S. Navy’s Columbia-Class Submarine Program. Leonardo, 4 April 2023. Available at: Leonardo DRS Receives Over $1 Billion to Support U.S. Navy's Columbia-Class Submarine Program | Leonardo DRS;

Leonardo DRS Awarded Contracts Valued at Over $3 Billion for U.S. Navy’s Columbia-Class Submarine Program. Leonardo, 10 January 2024. Available at: Leonardo DRS Awarded Contracts Valued at Over $3 Billion for U.S. Navy’s Columbia-Class Submarine Program | Leonardo DRS.

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Investments

 

Last updated: 2025-02-27 19:24:03

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