“Space, with the new satellite constellation now being deployed, is becoming an essential element of the multidomain framework.” With this statement, Roberto Cingolani, CEO of Leonardo, opened his remarks at the final panel of the 2025 Defence Summit in Rome.

Cingolani emphasized that traditional defense systems - ships, aircraft, and other complex platforms - are designed to last decades. Precisely for this reason, he argued, modern security must integrate technologies once considered peripheral: advanced sensors, electronic capabilities, cybersecurity tools, and NATO-style zero-trust architectures.

Digital technologies, he noted, move at an entirely different rhythm. “In electronics and cyber, you sprint - you don’t run a marathon.” A low-cost drone has a design cycle of little more than a year; software requires constant updates; cybersecurity protocols must be reviewed every few months. Leonardo’s challenge, he explained, is to bridge these two worlds: sturdy mechanical systems built to last half a century, and digital components that evolve relentlessly. “A platform that endures must also be adaptable enough to host technologies that change all the time.”

Slow updates, he warned, create vulnerabilities, as algorithms and threats shift rapidly. On cybersecurity, he urged a change in mindset: “The best defense is stopping an attack before it reaches you. If it reaches your perimeter, it’s already too late.”

The same logic now applies to space, where long-lasting geostationary satellites are giving way to short-cycle LEO constellations that resemble an “automotive” production model.

Cingolani concluded by presenting Leonardo’s “Michelangelo” model, designed to ensure communication and control across platforms from different generations - a step he considers essential for European interoperability and NATO cooperation.