Fun Fact #507 When in Rome

 Fun Fact #507

When in Rome

Named after the famous inventor Leonardo Da Vinici, Leonardo S.p.A. (formally Fimeccanica) is the 12th largest Defense contractor in the world based in Rome, Italy with 180 sites world wide.  Started in 1948 Leonardo was a mechanical engineering subsidiary of IRI until it was partly privatized in the M.B.I. (Italiana) Stock exchange in 1998. 

After a CEO change in 2013 they teamed up with BAE systems to work on the Eurocopter as part of their plan to expand into 7 major business areas (Aerostructures, Helicopters, Aircraft, Electronics, Cybersecurity, Automobiles, and Space). Additionally, they recently (2021) announced plans to expand into the Semiconductor business with their first plant currently under construction in Oro valley Arizona. 

Image of the Raffaelo MPLM manufactured by ASI (with components from Leonardo) to transport supplies to the International Space Station. While it was decommissioned it was transferred in 2023 to Axiom Space for use in the planned construction of the commercial sections of the ISS. Photograph by Astronaut Stephen K. Robinson.