Italy unveils Michelangelo’s dome; AI-powered air defense shield to counter hypersonic missiles and drones
Italian defense company Leonardo yesterday unveiled its new multi-layered air defense system, called “Michelangelo Dome,” a fully modular and scalable system designed with extensive use of artificial intelligence to resist new threats, including hypersonic missiles, suicide drones, cruise missiles, and even maritime threats.
According to Leonardo officials, this system is capable of creating an integrated defense network from the depths of the sea to outer space.
Artificial intelligence is at the heart of the system and is responsible for tasks such as attack prediction, immediate threat detection, automated decision-making, and selecting the most optimal interception strategy.
“The Michelangelo Dome was developed with the aim of protecting the critical infrastructure of the European continent and in full coordination with NATO defense strategies, and is expected to enter operational service from 2028.”
Experts say the project has conceptual similarities to the US’s multi-layered missile defense system (known as “Golden Dome”) and has been introduced as the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has made European countries’ urgent need for more advanced defense systems more apparent than ever.
Leonardo has announced that the system can be used independently or as a complement to existing NATO systems and is capable of integrating with radars, sensors and weapons from various NATO member states.
