Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri has been selected to construct the third U212NFS submarine for the Italian Navy.
As informed, the deal received parliamentary approval and will now follow the standard administrative procedure.
The programme, which includes two vessels contracted in 2021, as well as the creation of a Training Center, is led by OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’Armement, the international organization for joint armament cooperation).
The first two vessels will be delivered in 2027 and 2029, with the steel cutting of the second unit scheduled for 6 June.
The U212NFS submarines will have significant design modifications which will all be developed independently by Fincantieri in accordance with the requirements of the navy.
The program responds to the need to secure adequate underwater spatial surveillance and control capacity, considering the future complex scenarios of underwater operations and that the operational lifetime of the 4 Sauro-class submarines currently in service.
The submarines will carry out many different tasks for the benefit of the community on a daily basis, preserving national interests and collective defense within the framework of the most important alliances in which Italy participates, NATO and the EU.
They range from purely military missions to operations pertaining to freedom of navigation, anti-piracy, keeping the energy supply routes safe (due to the presence of seabed resources or underwater infrastructure), observance of international law, fighting terrorism, defending external borders, and safeguarding maritime infrastructure, including essential offshore and underwater infrastructure, not least preserving marine ecosystems.
Three months ago, U212 NFS Programme Division, the NFS program achieved a significant milestone, the Critical Design Review (CDR), a fundamental step for the realisation of the new generation of submarines.