Italian defense company Leonardo plans to test components of its new Michelangelo air defense dome in Ukraine by the end of the year, using the battlefield environment to validate technologies designed to counter drones and advanced missile threats.
CEO Roberto Cingolani said the tests could begin as early as late 2026, ahead of broader trials planned in NATO countries starting in 2027, according to a report by Ukrainian National News.
Leonardo has not disclosed which elements will be evaluated, though early testing is expected to focus heavily on counter-drone capabilities.
Michelangelo is designed as a multi-layered integrated air and missile defense architecture that links sensors, interceptors, and command systems into a unified network capable of detecting and neutralizing aerial threats ranging from small drones to ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
At its core is a multi-domain C5 command module, which analyzes large streams of sensor data and assigns the most suitable interceptor or defensive platform to engage an incoming threat.
This approach replaces the traditional one-sensor-to-one-shooter model with a networked “kill web,” enabling faster responses against complex attacks such as drone swarms or hypersonic missiles.
Developing Leonardo’s Michelangelo
Leonardo has already begun demonstrating elements of the Michelangelo system as part of Italy’s broader air and missile defense modernization.
In December 2025, the company carried out the first successful air defense test associated with the Michelangelo dome concept. The trial used Leonardo’s KRONOS Grand Mobile High Power radar together with the SAMP/T surface-to-air missile system, detecting a target and guiding an interceptor to a range not previously achieved during land-based trials.
Italy is expected to serve as the initial operational base for the system, with Leonardo positioning Michelangelo as a potential framework for a wider European air defense architecture compatible with NATO systems.
Further testing and integration work is planned throughout the decade, with full operational capability for the broader defense architecture targeted before 2030.
