We kick off 2023 and by looking back at headlines generated by Leonardo graduates and their colleagues over the last 12 months.
From the start of the year which saw our engineers across the across the country being recognised for their achievements, to our Edinburgh team being awarded a Queen’s Award to Innovation and ending the year with news of Leonardo’s role in the next generation Global Air Combat Programme, it’s been another year to remember for those working at Leonardo:
January - A new year, and new beginnings for Leonardo
- A team of Leonardo colleagues were recognised in the Vice Chief of Defence Staff Commendation awards.
- With everyone returning to the office, we highlighted how our Employee Benefits system is helping colleagues from across the UK.
- We celebrated new contracts for the development and delivery of the Eurofighter Typhoon’s ECRS Mk1 (European Common Radar System Mk1) E-scan radar.
- Mechanical Engineering Degree Apprentice Devon Ward, from our Yeovil site, took home the Engineering Apprentice Rising Star Award at the Make UK Awards national final.
February - Successes for our Business Centres
- United States Air Force (USAF) had granted operational clearance for BriteCloud 218.
- Our Laser Target Designator (LTD) Type 163 had been chosen by the Australian Defence Force .
- We also marked the opening of iAero, a new aerospace centre.
- To mark LGBTQ+ History Month, Sam Bone, Chair of Leonardo UK’s Pride Network Group, wrote an article highlighting the struggles that LGBTQ+ people have with coming out personally and professionally, and explaining how employers can provide safe and supportive workplaces.
March - Celebrating the impact of women
- We marked Women’s History Month by thanking to all the women who work for Leonardo and celebrating their contribution to our business.
- We attended the Home Office’s Security and Policing event – demonstrating how Leonardo experts and technology are contributing to the UK security and resilience.
- Our Women’s History Month celebrations culminated on International Women’s Day 2022, when we gathered colleagues from across our global sites to pledge their commitment to gender equality and share how they will be helping to ‘Break The Bias’.
- We launched our Wellbeing employee-led network group.
- Staying in Yeovil, we were proud to sponsor the town’s Half Marathon, in which many colleagues from our helicopters site ran in support of the Yeovil Hospital Charity Breast Cancer Unit appeal.
April - Our award-winning technology
- Our infrared countermeasures (IRCM) team in Edinburgh had won the Queen’s Award for Innovation.
- Leonardo was chosen to deliver the next stage of AW159 Wildcat helicopter Integrated Support and Training contract in the UK.
- Our Thermal Imaging technology once again used in a BBC David Attenborough documentary.
- Later in the month, we hosted more than 25 companies spanning UK aerospace and industry to share a range of perspectives on how to unlock Social Value.
- We spoke at the National Cyber Security Centre’s CYBERUK event, in Wales on how our experts are working around the clock to protect the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure.
May - Leonardo in the community
- On 29 May 2022, the 149th day of the year, we again celebrated ‘149 day’ (putting the spotlight on our AW149 proposed solution to the UK government’s New Medium Helicopter requirement) by announcing the winner of our AW149 Livery Competition and publishing a video of those at our Yeovil site saying what the AW149 means to them.
- During Mental Health Awareness Week, British Army veteran and Armed Forces Para Snowsport Team athlete, Troy Conner, spoke to our UK employees about bouncing back from adversity.
- We were delighted to sponsor the Inter Services Rugby tournament, which was won by British Army Rugby Union, fending off competition from the RAF and Royal Navy squads.
- In Luton, Leonardo was recognised for its commitment to sustainable travel.
- For the second year running, our employees, suppliers and customers around the globe took part in our wellbeing challenge: the Leonardo World Tour. Over the course of one week, participants collectively travelled 100,000 km (the distance between all 106 Leonardo global sites) by walking, running, cycling, swimming or any other physical means.
June - A big month for our STEM outreach
- After two years of restrictions hampering plans for in-person STEM events, we returned to the Big Bang Fair at The NEC in Birmingham for a celebration of engineering.
- Our STEM ambassadors appeared with interactive exhibits later in the month at the Royal Bath & West Show, and Cosford Air Show.
- On 23 June, we celebrated International Women in Engineering Day (INWED). To coincide with this, “Aerowomen 22” organised by a team of Leonardo female helicopter trainees, took place online in Yeovil to celebrate of women across the aerospace.
- Later in the month, we hosted Yeovil Town FC at the Home of British Helicopters as we took part in their new season kit launch.
- During the month we also celebrated Pride Month and Carers Week with articles highlighting the work colleagues across the UK are undertaking to raise awareness on the subjects.
Our digital electronics factories went live putting big data at the fingertips of engineers across the UK with the aim of dramatically accelerating product development
July - Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) returns
- The following week, the UK’s biggest airshow reopened its doors to physical visitors in July 2022, for the first time in four years. FIA 2022 brought together all the major players in the aerospace industry, with Leonardo’s pavilion at the heart of the event.
- Our AW149 helicopter stole the opening day of the show. During the show, Leonardo announced news including a new production line in Yeovil for the AW149, a contract for uncrewed military Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) demonstrator, “Proteus”, the launch of the Pellonia partnership with the UK MOD to help deliver Next Generation Air Survivability and increased commitment to the UK’s National Space Strategy programme with the launch of the Space Alliance.
- The UK MOD awarded Leonardo a contract for uncrewed military Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) demonstrator, “Proteus”, to lift off.
- Following two of the biggest UK airshows in years, we took time to sit back and enjoy Jurassic World: Dominion, which featured an AW101 helicopter.
- The show also saw the launch of the “Levelling Up Impact Report” by The Purpose Coalition which showed how Leonardo in the UK is benefitting disadvantaged regions by providing life-changing career opportunities.
August - Focus on our Early Careers programmes
- During August, we accepted the first placement students of our 2022 Early Career cohort.
- August also saw Leonardo in the UK sign the Mental Health at Work Commitment, as we continued to demonstrate our ambition to develop a workplace environment and culture where all employees can thrive.
- We celebrated three decades of Praetorian Defensive Aid Sub System (DASS), marking 30 years since the DASS Business Agreement was signed.
- The month also marked the conclusion of the company’s walking challenge which saw teams around the UK compete to achieve the most steps while raising money for charity.
September - Back on the road!
- We supported the Atlantic Future Forum in New York on-board the Royal Navy's HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier.
- We returned to the Defence Vehicle Dynamics (DVD) expo in Millbrook in September, exhibiting our technology at the biennial defence industry event.
- Once again, we were proud to support National Inclusion Week (NIW) in September.
- We supported Air Ambulance Week 2022 in September; we were proud to celebrate the achievements of the charities across the UK that make a lifesaving difference at critical moments.
October - Cyber Awareness Month
- In October, a team of Leonardo colleagues based at our Bristol site developed an innovative way to highlight cyber risks, using Lego, as part of Cyber Security Awareness month.
- There was cause for celebration in October, as it was announced that our engineers in Edinburgh had created a fully automated end-to-end fighter jet radar array test facility.
- We were proud to be listed in Glassdoor's Top 20 UK Companies for Work-Life Balance in 2022.
- On Mental Health Awareness Day we highlighted our support of the RAF Association’s ‘Finding it Tough’ campaign and as part of Black History Month we spoke at the Royal Air Force’s Ethnic Minorities Network Conference.
- Final construction of the Single-Site Logistics Hub’s structure and flooring at our Yeovil site was celebrated with the industrial partners’ next-generation workforce cementing their handprints into the floor.
November - Our continued commitment to inclusion
- On Remembrance Day, we launched our newest employee-led network group: Armed Forces. The group is open to all Leonardo employees and is focused on supporting those who have served in the Armed Forces, whether as a Regular or Reserve.
- Our commitment to inclusion was recognised at the Women in Defence UK Awards in November, when three of our colleagues were shortlisted as finalists for their outstanding work at Leonardo.
- Employees from across our UK sites supported Movember once again in 2022.
- Our run of award wins continued in November, as we picked up the prize for Manufacturing in Action at the 2022 Manufacturer MX Awards in Liverpool.
December - A time of giving
- The Governments of the UK, Japan and Italy announced that their three nations will develop a next generation fighter aircraft under a new Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP). We joined the UK’s sovereign industry partners, under Team Tempest, to declare our support for this significant endeavour.
- In December, we also took the opportunity to look back at some of the wonderful work that our colleagues put in to help raise money and awareness for their chosen charities.
- Also in December, we hosted a workshop on sustainability, led by the South West Manufacturing Advisory Service at the iAero Centre close to our Yeovil site.
- Later, on the International Day of People with Disabilities, we spoke to some of our helicopters trainees who created an imaginative and memorable tour for visitors from local charity, The Hub, to learn more about our technology.
Don’t miss your chance to join one of the UK’s leading aerospace and defence companies with applications for the company’s 2023 Graduate intake now open!
