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Leonardo Presents 'Michelangelo' AI Defense Architecture for Europe

Leonardo pitches a NATO‑compatible AI architecture with a phased path to full capability by 2028.

Overview

  • The company outlined a multi‑domain concept that fuses land, sea, air and space sensors with AI to detect, forecast and counter threats including hypersonic missiles, drone swarms and naval attacks.
  • Michelangelo is framed as a unifying command‑and‑control layer designed to integrate diverse national assets under NATO standards rather than replace existing systems.
  • Leonardo positions the effort as additive to EU initiatives such as Sky Shield, describing it as an industry‑led program with defined ownership and immediate workstreams.
  • Executives cited the need for AI to process “hundreds of terabytes per second” of sensor data and to compress decision times that outstrip human coordination in complex salvos.
  • The company presented a ten‑year addressable market of about €203 billion and said components would be introduced in phases, while acknowledging that technical validation, procurement and political agreements are still required before full deployment.