Italy unveils Europe's most powerful multi-layered missile shield

Italy's Leonardo Group officially launched an integrated air and missile defense system called Michelangelo Dome - Michelangelo Dome. This name is taken from the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

This is not a single weapon but a complete air defense architecture, likened to the “art of protecting the sky” inspired by the genius of Michelangelo himself, with the ability to simultaneously intercept many types of threats from cheap drones to intercontinental ballistic missiles and hypersonic missiles.

The Michelangelo Dome is built according to a five-layered defense model that is tightly interconnected, making the most of the sensor and weapon systems available to Italy and its NATO allies, while adding the latest technologies developed by Leonardo itself.

The closest protection layer focuses on countering drones and rocket artillery shells thanks to the integration of a new generation AESA band radar system with a complex of artillery, short-range air defense missiles SAMP/T-NG and CAMM-ER.

A special feature is the new Kronos Grand Mobile High Power radar capable of simultaneously detecting more than 5,000 targets within a range of 400km, combined with a network of infrared and passive sensors to help minimize the possibility of electronic interference.

At the middle level, the system uses the improved CAMM-ER missile with a range of up to 45km and a ceiling of 20km, along with the SAMP/T-NG version using Aster 30 Block 1NT ammunition capable of intercepting aerodynamic targets at a distance of 150km.

In particular, Leonardo announced that it is developing a new missile line specifically for Michelangelo Dome with an expected range of over 200km, using a dual-band active radar seeker and a two-stage propulsion engine to deal with high-speed threats.

The top level and the biggest technological highlight is the ability to counter ballistic and hypersonic missiles. Michelangelo Dome will integrate the low orbit LEO sensor and the Vulcano very low frequency radar introduced by Leonardo in 2025, allowing the detection of hypersonic missiles from the early stages of their flight.

The final interceptor is still based on the upgraded SAMP/T complex with Aster 30 Block 2 ammunition with exo-atmospheric capabilities and was successfully tested against a hypersonic target in early 2025 at the Salto di Quirra test site, Sardegna.

The entire system is controlled by an integrated command center using Davinci HPC Cyber AI and a new NATO Link 16 and IFDL data link network, allowing instant sharing of target information with Patriot, IRIS-T SLM or even allied Aegis Ashore systems.

Leonardo stressed that the Michelangelo Dome is designed to be open, able to accept any additional sensors or missiles from other European countries without changing the main architecture.

According to CEO Roberto Cingolani, the 2026-2027 phase will complete the integration of all existing components, and from 2028 onwards the system will reach initial operational capability (IOC) and the first practical deployment on Italian territory.

With Michelangelo Dome , Italy will not only possess the most modern air defense shield in Europe for the next decade, but also lay the foundations for a common defense system of the entire European Union against increasingly complex threats from hypersonic missiles and swarm attack weapons.