Italy Plans To Test Michelangelo Air Defense Dome In Ukraine

• 13.03.2026, 8:28

Before the end of the year.

Private Italian company Leonardo wants to test its new Michelangelo air defense dome in Ukraine by the end of 2026, and then move on to planned NATO tests as early as next year.

The company's CEO Roberto Cingolani said this, writes Breaking Defense.

What is known about the Michelangelo dome?"

"The first component of the Michelangelo dome ... is currently under construction for our friends in Ukraine. The first test will take place there under real conditions. Don't ask me again ... but this is a kind of proof that this is a very effective approach," he said.

Chingolani said that so far 20 countries have expressed interest in ordering the Michelangelo dome. The company's CEO predicted that the project could bring new business opportunities worth €21 billion by 2035.

Dome Capabilities

Chingolani said the open-architecture-based air defense system could support defenses in a 10-15 kilometer "dead zone" during an attack by drones and other weapons systems. In such a scenario, the dome can serve to interoperate artillery batteries, radars, satellites and drone countermeasures systems.

The Michelangelo Dome can intercept, track and neutralize emerging threats in the form of ballistic and hypersonic threats, massive attacks or threats that are difficult to see (drone swarms, for example).

The centerpiece of Italy's dome is the MC5 product -- a plug-in module that plugs in and provides multi-domain communications.

Besides Ukraine, the Italian company plans to transfer the technology to allied countries, as well as adapt the MC5 to more weapons systems. But specific countries are not named.