The key facts

  • Leonardo's orders for the first nine months of 2026 reached 60.4 billion euros, up 28% compared with the same period last year
  • About 6 billion euros of the growth came from the acquired defense business of Iveco Group (the deal closed in the spring)
  • CEO Lorenzo Mariani cited the GCAP projects, joint ventures with Rheinmetall and Baykar, the alliance with Airbus and Thales, and the Michelangelo Dome system

Historic high in order backlog

The Italian defense and aerospace group Leonardo has reported receiving orders worth more than 60 billion euros for the first time: over the first nine months of 2026, the order backlog reached 60.4 billion euros, up 28% compared with the same period last year. The company's board of directors approved the nine-month results on Wednesday, November 4; the company itself announced them on Thursday, and details are reported by euronews.

What lies behind the growth

Part of the backlog growth — about 6 billion euros — came from the acquisition of Iveco Group's defense division, a deal Leonardo closed last spring. Thus, the growth does not fully reflect organic demand: a significant share is linked to the consolidation of the new business. The company also noted revenue growth in all of the defense and aerospace sectors in which it operates.

Management's strategic priorities

Leonardo's CEO and managing director Lorenzo Mariani said the results «confirm the correctness of our development path, characterized by financial strength, a substantial commercial offering, the depth of our product lineup and the expansion of production capacity». According to him, the company is working to «translate the scale of the order backlog into higher production and delivery capacity», «as the current reference scenario requires».

Stated development directions

In the corporate press release (source in Italian) Mariani named the integration and digitalization of platforms, the development of industrial partnerships and targeted M&A activity as the foundation of the strategic plan — in his assessment, this will allow the company to «play a central role in the new structure of the international AD&S industry». Among specific projects, he listed the GCAP new fighter program, joint ventures with Rheinmetall and Baykar for new vehicles and drones, the alliance with Airbus and Thales to create a European space operator, and the technological development of the Michelangelo Dome system. It should be noted that these are the stated plans and priorities of the management, not adopted commercial decisions. Leonardo remains a public company with Italian state participation through the Ministry of Economy and Finance.