An airfoil is disclosed having a concave pressure side (70) and a convex suction side (72) defining a chord length, and a leading edge (74) and a trailing edge (76). A leading edge protective strip (80) is adhered by a bond layer (82) to and protectively covers the leading edge (74) and respective predetermined portions of the pressure side (70) and suction side (72) of the airfoil body from the leading edge (74) downstream towards the trailing edge (76). The leading edge protective strip (80) includes a multiplicity of inwardly-facing grooves (80A) in which the bond layer (82) is embedded. The grooves (80A) define adjacent segments of a predetermined size sufficiently small that, if detached from the vane (52) during engine operation, impact with downstream engine components will not cause damage to the downstream engine components.
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