Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has revealed that production work started on Italian Navy’s second U212NFS submarine.
As informed, the construction started today at Muggiano (La Spezia) shipyard.
The program includes two vessels contracted in 2021 to be delivered in 2027 and 2029, a third submarine which has received parliamentary approval, as welI as the creation of a Training Center. It is led by OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matiére d’Armement), the international organization for joint armament cooperation.
The U21 2NFS submarines will have significant design modifications which will all be developed independently by Fincantieri in accordance with the requirements of the Italian Navy.
The vessels 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 the 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.
Recently, Fincantieri announced it has been selected to construct the third U212NFS submarine for the Italian 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.