Italian aeronautical organisations are aiming to support a rebuilding of Ukrainian air traffic management systems, through an initial donation of radar equipment.

The five primary-surveillance radars, and associated equipment, are part of a package to restore Ukraine’s civil air navigation infrastructure.

Italian air navigation service ENAV and aerospace firm Leonardo have unveiled a memorandum of co-operation covering collaboration with the Ukrainian air traffic service UkSATSE.

The provisional agreement was signed at the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2025 being hosted in Rome on 10 July.

Leonardo says it “marks a significant step” towards re-establishing Ukrainian air traffic management capabilities which have been “severely affected” during the conflict with Russia.

Ukrainian airspace remains a conflict zone, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency advises that carriers “should not operate” in the Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Simferopol or Dnipropetrovsk flight information regions.

Leonardo will contribute technological and infrastructure components to the collaboration while ENAV will provide operational expertise and consultancy services. UkSATSE will oversee implementation.

“The three parties are committed to jointly co-ordinating the planning and execution of key projects under the [Ukrainian air traffic management recovery plan] and to work closely with institutional partners to identify sustainable financing solutions,” states Leonardo.

“These systems are expected to play a meaningful role in restoring Ukraine’s basic surveillance capacity and enabling a phased re-opening of its airspace for civil operations.”

French aerospace firm Thales signed a contract with UkSATSE earlier this year for installation of a combined primary and secondary radar, with rapid-deployment capability.

The project is being implemented under the framework a grant agreement between the two countries covering critical infrastructure.

UkSATSE director Andriy Yarmak says the organisation is focused on “efficiency and quality” of air navigation service provision.

“Restoration of surveillance infrastructure and radar coverage is one of the priority areas of activity, as a significant part of the Ukrainian air navigation service infrastructure was destroyed during the war,” he adds.

“Installation of a new radar will significantly improve coverage in a certain part of the airspace of Ukraine.”