In the News

Leonardo DRS Completes Merger, Goes Public

Virginia Business - November 29, 2022 - WASHINGTON — Leonardo DRS Chair and CEO William J. Lynn III rings the closing bell at the Nasdaq Nov. 29. The Arlington-based defense contractor went public that morning, a day after completing a merger with Israel-based Rada Electronic Industries Ltd. Arlington-based defense contractor Leonardo DRS Inc. is now a public company.

VIDEO: Watch DRS Highlighted on CNBC's Squawk on the Street

CNBC - November 29, 2022 -- Morgan Brennan highlights DRS as a stock to watch on CNBC's Squawk on the Street November 29, 2022.

The ‘Kinetic Pendulum’: How the Army wants to defeat drone threats

BreakingDefense.com - September 13, 2022 - WASHINGTON — US Army leaders call them the new “improvised explosive devices.”

Small drones, flying above military bases or personnel in the field, packed with explosives can be delivered on targets with lethal effects at minimal cost to the enemy. And as drone technology continues to evolve, US military leaders expect they will attack on the battlefield in swarms, operating with autonomous capabilities that will make them more difficult to knock out of the sky with the jamming technology largely employed to counter drones today.

Leonardo DRS CEO on European Defense Spending and Inflation

BreakingDefense.com - August 15, 2022 - In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, defense budgets in the US and Europe have increased dramatically, with companies on both sides of the Atlantic looking to cash in. As CEO of Leonardo DRS, the American arm of Italian giant Leonardo, William Lynn III has a unique view on the state of industrial cooperation between Washington and the European capitals.

Leonardo DRS Chief Talks Taking Out Drone Swarms and What Integrated Sensing has in Common with Tesla

Defensenews.com - July 25, 2022 - FARNBOROUGH, England — Defense electronics firm Leonardo DRS in June moved to bolster its position in the military’s force protection market when it announced plans to acquire Israeli radar company RADA Electronics Industries.

Future of autonomous flight comes into focus at Farnborough Airshow

Defensenews.com - July 22, 2022 - FARNBOROUGH, England — The future of defense aviation is autonomous, aerospace industry leaders repeatedly said at twin air shows in England this month — and it’s arriving soon.

U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has made it a top priority for the service to increasingly use autonomous aircraft — that is, an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, that uses technology like artificial intelligence to manage its missions.

At UK Airshow, Defense Execs Warn of Inflation, Supply Chains, and Worker Shortages

Defenseone.com - July 19, 2022 - FARNBOROUGH, England — You couldn't tell from the maskless throngs packing railcars, exhibit halls, and evening receptions for the 2022 Farnborough Airshow that the coronavirus, which canceled the previous edition of this sprawling biennial show, is mounting its third major wave of the year. But in the air-conditioned chalets stacked along the flight line at Farnborough Airport, executives focused on how the pandemic is still very much affecting the aerospace and defense industry. Worker shortages, record inflation, and a broken global supply chain dominated the discussions among large firms, smaller suppliers, and government leaders.

The Air Force and JTT-NG: A Situational Awareness Match Made in Heaven

Air Force Magazine - September 1, 2021 -- Leonardo DRS has developed the world’s smallest and most capable integrated broadcast service (IBS) solution in what is the new Joint Tactical Terminal (JTT-NG). With more capability packed into a smaller form, the system represents the best long-term solution for the Air Force in terms of performance and IBS connectivity.

Contractor to Upgrade Joint Force Radios by 2025

National Defense Magazine - July 22, 2021 -- A Virginia-based defense contractor will provide a smaller, faster radio system with upgraded capabilities to the U.S. military in the next four years. Leonardo DRS revealed its new technology, the next-generation joint tactical terminal, in June. The system is 60 percent lighter and smaller than the legacy terminal it produced for the joint force in recent years, according to company officials. The integrated broadcast service transceiver provides near real-time battlespace awareness of millions of threat and survivor tracking reports daily and will be used for planning and executing missions. Production orders will start in July 2022 and continue through 2027. The Army awarded Leonardo DRS $250 million for the effort.

New Air Combat Training System Highlights Need to Speed Modernization of Ranges

Forbes - June 29, 2021 -- America’s global military power rests upon twin pillars of training and technology. U.S. forces are the most rigorously trained and best equipped in the world. In recent years, the two pillars have tended to intertwine as digital technologies enabled breakthrough approaches to training. Nowhere is this more true than in the case of air combat training.

Army Fields First Anti-Aircraft Strykers In Just 3 Years

Breaking Defense - April 2021 Army frontline air defenses ended decades of neglect this week when it delivered the first four operational Stryker anti-aircraft vehicles to Germany. The Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (MSHORAD) Strykers are armored 8×8 vehicles fitted with an autocannon and a missile launcher capable of firing Hellfires or Stingers. They will replace the less well-armed, less mobile, and more vulnerable Avengers, a 1980s-vintage variant of the 4×4 Humvee that can only fire Stingers.

Defeating Small Drones: The U.S. Army’s Next Big Challenge

RealClearDefense - March 18, 2021 -- The proliferation of armed unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), also known as drones, presents a growing threat to maneuver ground forces, headquarters, logistics and critical infrastructure. This is particularly true for the explosion in the availability of small, increasingly sophisticated UASs. While the Pentagon has invested significant resources to address the challenge posed by medium and large drones as part of its air and missile defense program, it is only beginning to deal with the growing danger of small drones, particularly to military vehicles and dismounted formations.

What the Defense Industry is Seeing and Saying About the Election

Defense News - November 3, 2020 ― Anyone will tell you this is the most important election in U.S. history ― unless they happen to run a major American defense firm.

Army Vehicle Modernization: Mounted Mission Command and Onboard Power

Breaking Defense - October 16, 2020 — Battlefield technologies—from combat management systems and vehicle power generation to cyber-hardened network computing for C4I—are at the top of the Army’s modernization priorities. Leonardo DRS has been one of the Army’s best providers of these systems, with recent contract awards from the Army and foreign allies.

After Some Big Wins, Leonardo DRS Puts Shared Focus On Growth And Execution

Defense Daily - October 16, 2020 ― Following some major contract wins the past two years and stellar growth during that period, Leonardo DRS has been shifting some of its attention to executing on the relatively new work as it begins to transition to production, William “Bill” Lynn, the company’s CEO, said last week.

The Army Mission Command Computing System That You Don’t Know

Breaking Defense - October 15, 2020 -- The Army’s mission command computing system, called the Mounted Family of Computer Systems II (MFoCS II), is familiar to many, performing as promised. Part of Army network modernization efforts under Program Executive Office Command, Control and Communications–Tactical (PEO C3T) and Program Manager, Mission Command, MFoCS II is a family of common computing and display systems that consolidates a range of programs and military computing users.

Intelligence, Cyber, and EW Evolve for All-Domain Operations

Breaking Defense - October 13, 2020 -- The Defense Department has begun implementing a vision for what it calls All-Domain Operations, which intertwine the five warfighting domains—land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace—in a way that battle data is shared instantly over secure networks and out to the tactical edge. 

Army Modernization’s Day of Reckoning Is at Hand

Real Clear Defense - October 13, 2020 -- For the past four years, the U.S. Army’s modernization campaign has been driving forward at warp speed. Over this period, the Army has stood up a new major command, Army Futures Command. It has kickstarted 31 programs (plus two enabling capabilities) across six modernization priorities, each managed by a Cross-Functional Team (CFT). It has formulated a new operational concept called Multi-Domain Operations. Finally, it has demonstrated the ability to rapidly move programs from concept to initial fielding.

DefAero Report Daily Podcast – Interview with Leonardo DRS’ Bill Lynn

Defense & Aerospace Report - October 12, 2020 On this episode of the DefAero Report Daily Podcast, Bill Lynn, former deputy US defense secretary who is now president and CEO of Leonardo DRS, discusses operating in the time of COVID, company priorities, the current budget environment, moving fast and great power competition. 

Art Therapy is Helping Young Patients in Military Families Better Cope with their Illnesses

Breaking Defense - May 2020 -- Trying to navigate a difficult medical diagnosis can be challenging for anyone, especially for children and young adults. Suddenly, they find themselves confined to a world stripped of all normalcy, their former lives reduced to medical procedures, to isolating and sometimes painful experiences, leaving them struggling to find their footing amid a sea of healthcare professionals.

Navy Asks DRS Laurel to Provide Ethernet Shipboard Networking Equipment for Arleigh Burke-Class Destroyers

Military & Aerospace Electronics - May 2020 -- U.S. Navy shipboard electronics experts are asking Leonardo DRS to provide high-speed Ethernet fiber-optic shipboard networking equipment installation and repair for the latest versions of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers.

The Color of Heat: How Quantum Cascade Lasers Solve the Navy’s SWaP Problem in Protecting Helicopters

Breaking Defense - May 2020 -- "In many ways, it's magical." A new laser technology has found its way into commercial production that solves the size, weight, and power concerns of traditional helicopter countermeasure systems.

Power Supplies Grapple with Open Systems, and the Need for More Power

Military & Aerospace Electronics - May 1, 2020 -- Electrical power aboard military ships, planes, combat vehicles, and command posts typically is a design afterthought, and rarely gets widespread consideration alongside headliners like laser weapons, computerized avionics, and hypersonic weapons.

"Energy Magazine" Gives the Navy Power for Shipboard Lasers and Other High-Energy Systems

Breaking Defense - April 2020 -- The Navy is at a tipping point with regard to electrical power. Most shipboard generators are already maxed out providing power for systems like cooling pumps, heating/ventilation/air conditioning chillers and fans, lighting, and defensive systems like radar, sonar, and electronic countermeasures.

U.S. Air Force, Navy to Train Pilots As They Will Fight

RealClearDefense - April 11, 2020 -- It is now an axiom in the military profession that you should train as if it is certain you will be on the front lines. The U.S. Air Force and Navy learned this lesson the hard way more than fifty years ago in the skies over North Vietnam. In the early years of the Vietnam War, the United States suffered unexpected losses in air-to-air combat due largely to the lack of adequate training. In response, the Air Force and Navy completely revamped the training system, creating special air warfare schools and advanced training ranges. These innovations worked so well that by the time of Desert Storm, even new pilots were able to conduct complex missions with a high degree of proficiency and even score an impressive number of air-to-air kills.

Leonardo DRS vetronics rugged computers declared standard gear on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV)

Military & Aerospace Electronics - March 2020 -- WARREN, Mich. – U.S. Army vetronics experts have declared a common family of rugged vehicle-mount computers from the Leonardo DRS Land Electronics business unit in Melbourne, Fla., to be standard equipment on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) for the Army and U.S. Marine Corps.

U.S. Army to Soon Wrap Up Early Testing of Short-Range Air Defense System

Defense News - March 2020 — The U.S. Army will wrap up developmental testing of its Interim Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) system by June, paving the way for operational testing in the fall ahead of fielding, according to Col. Chuck Worshim, program manager for cruise missile defense systems with the Army’s Program Executive Office Missiles and Space.

VIDEO: How Leonardo DRS is addressing DoD priorities

GovMatters.tv - March 24, 2020 -- Bill Lynn, CEO of Leonardo DRS, discusses with Government Matters how the company is addressing DoD priorities through investments.

Leonardo DRS Readying For Next Phases Of Two Army Maneuver Air Defense Programs

Defense Daily - March 2020 -- Leonardo DRS is readying to move forward on integration efforts for two major Army maneuver air defense programs later this summer, pending delays due the coronavirus, including a production award for the Interim Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) platform.