While standing next to a mockup of Proteus at a briefing, Leonardo’s Managing Director of Helicopters UK announced that its demonstrator is set to fly for the first time this year.
On September 12, 2025, Nigel Colman told journalists that the “hard work was progressing well” as it looks to progress the Proteus demonstrator.
“It will fly,” Colman said. “It will fly because the Royal Navy wanted to see it fly this year. It’s fully built, though. Fuel tanks are in. I don’t think the engines are quite in, but it’s literally fully built.”
He added: “In the coming weeks we will be doing rotors on- and then rotors off-ground runs, before flying this year.”
Colman said that Leonardo “fully hope and expect” that the Proteus demonstrator will form part of the Royal Navy’s future.
Leonardo showcased the Proteus concept for the first time at DSEI 2023, in collaboration with the Ministry of Defense (MOD).
The finished three-ton uncrewed rotorcraft should signal advances in autonomy and payload modularity and interchangeability.
According to Colman, Proteus could also be configured to carry out search and rescue, Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW), and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. In total, Leonardo was tasked with 16 mission sets to look at.
Primarily, the Royal Navy wants the Proteus demonstrator’s main mission to be Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW).
Under the Royal Navy’s Maritime Aviation Transformation (MATx) strategy, the UK is looking to evolve its Fleet Air Arm (FAA) towards being fully autonomous aircraft by 2040.
Leonardo’s Proteus demonstrator is seen as the backbone of the mission to shift to uncrewed aircraft.
In August 2025, Leonardo’s Mark Andrew wrote: “Autonomous platforms bring potential cost benefits vs crewed platforms. For the former, you get more capability as they require less mechanical complexity and avionics equipment. Furthermore, there is no crew controlling the aircraft, so mechanical control runs, seats and avionic displays are all unnecessary.”
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