Leonardo’s Michelangelo Security Dome.
Italy’s Michelangelo Security Dome: Rome, December 9, 2025 — Less than ten days after the formal launch of Leonardo’s Michelangelo Security Dome, Italy has announced the programme’s first major technical milestone with a successful air-defence test demonstrating unprecedented radar and missile-interception capability.
On December 3, the Italian armed forces conducted the first qualification launch of the new SAMP/T NG surface-to-air missile, equipped with Leonardo’s latest-generation KRONOS Grand Mobile High Power radar system. The trial marked a historic achievement: the radar tracked the incoming threat and guided the interceptor missile to a hit at a range never before achieved in land-based tests of the Eurosam SAMP/T system.
The KRONOS Grand Mobile High Power radar, built on advanced AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) technology, is a central component of the Michelangelo Security Dome’s air- and missile-defence architecture. During the test, it demonstrated rapid target acquisition, threat discrimination, and sustained guidance precision—performance metrics that Leonardo says confirm the sensor as Europe’s best-in-class radar for integrated air and missile defence.
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Leonardo’s Michelangelo Security Dome.
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This latest result adds to a series of strong showings by Leonardo’s radar family over the past year in global defence exercises, including Formidable Shield and Pacific Dragon, as well as several live-fire trials involving ground-based surface-to-air missile systems. Defence officials say the consistent performance underscores Italy’s growing technological leadership in next-generation air-defence solutions.
The successful trial also strengthens the case for the Michelangelo Security Dome—a dynamic, open-architecture system designed to integrate a broad network of sensors and interceptors—as a leading candidate for the creation of a pan-European air and missile defence framework. The programme aims to shield European airspace from a widening range of aerial and ballistic threats using layered and highly coordinated response mechanisms.
Further qualification tests are expected in the coming months as Italy accelerates the development of the Security Dome, which officials intend to position as a cornerstone of Europe’s future defence architecture.
