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Leonardo Electronics US Inc. (LEI), a leading manufacturer of semiconductor lasers and systems for automotive, defense, security, medical, and industrial applications, and US subsidiary of Leonardo, announced today that it has obtained the automotive IATF 16949 certification. Leonardo is now one of a select few automotive certified manufacturers of both Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) arrays and edge-emitting laser sources for lidar, Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) and other sensing applications.

In the last few months, there has been a re-ignited interest in expanding aesthetic laser applications. With significant proven successes in the hair removal space, teams like Leonardo continue to partner with aesthetic laser system developers to explore the treatment of other conditions.

Today, the US Department of Defense’s directed energy program has achieved a significant milestone—fielding a directed energy laser into a ship’s weapons systems, authorized for use upon command. There is much progress to be made, but leaders in the field of directed energy are making great strides to overcome long-standing concerns around usability, scalability, and power requirements for viability.

As noted in our recent blog, the demand for higher volume and more efficient carbon composite material manufacturing is pushing technological advancements in laser-based automated fiber placement (AFP) techniques forward. These new methods introduce key advantages which can save manufacturers time and money.

Leonardo Electronics US Inc. is proud to introduce the Falcon Shield, now available to US DoD, DOE, Border Patrol and partners. The Falcon Shield counter-UAV system addresses the threat of low, slow and small unmanned air systems undetectable by conventional air surveillance equipment. The drone mitigation system is a mature platform already proven globally, with demonstrated effective performance in high visibility, ‘no fail’ missions including:

While “going green” is a familiar concept, the materials and processes needed to make real change are constantly evolving to better protect our environment. The automotive industry continues to embrace green technologies to meet environmentally conscious consumer demands and to position themselves over the competition.

Carbon composite manufacturing has become a key area of R&D to meet increasing demand for carbon fiber composite materials. This shift is largely driven by industries looking for strong, lightweight, green materials. Manufacturers already using these materials or exploring the materials include automotive, sports equipment, civil infrastructure, and oil & gas manufacturers.

The U.S and UK navies have combined their efforts to achieve interchangeability between the two operations. The new tech bridge will help to ease and speed innovation, allowing both navies to better access technologies from academia as well as large and small companies. By synchronizing pioneering capabilities, strengthening operating concepts and focusing collective efforts to deliver a combined seapower, the move toward interchangeability will strengthen the advantage of these allies in defense related missions.

BriteCloud 218, which is currently undergoing a trials program in the United States led by the US Air National Guard (ANG) to confirm its suitability for the F-16 combat aircraft, was just trialed successfully by the German Armed Forces as a protection capability for target drone aircraft, also known as remotely-piloted air target systems (RPATS). The trial proved the ability of Leonardo's flare-sized electronic device to outwit missiles equipped with Semi-Active Radar (SAR) seeker technology.

Every year we look forward to seeing the new, exciting technology hitting many markets at CES in Las Vegas. Last year, we were able to walk the show floor and stand next to amazing advancements in lidar integrations in the automotive industry like Hyundi Motor Group’s air taxi and the front sensing 3D-lidar headlamp from Pioneer’s Smart Sensing Innovations.