Italy orders two new frigates
2024-08-14
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According to the U.S. Defense News website, Horizon Naval Systems recently received an order worth 1.5 billion euros (about 1.63 billion U.S. dollars) from the European Equipment Procurement Agency to build two improved FREMM EVO frigates for the Italian Navy to meet the Italian Navy's needs in dealing with modern warfare.
Italian FREMM frigate.
It is reported that the FREMM project is a long-term shipbuilding plan jointly carried out by Italy and France, which was launched in 2002. The plan aims to improve the ability to deal with maritime threats by building advanced frigates and updating their respective old ships. According to the plan, the Italian Navy will purchase 10 FREMM frigates, including 4 anti-submarine types and 6 general-purpose types, with an average cost of 350 million to 370 million euros per ship. From 2012 to 2019, the first 8 frigates were delivered to the Italian Navy one after another. In 2020, the Italian government sold the last two completed FREMM frigates to Egypt. Subsequently, Italy purchased two more frigates of this type. In May this year, the last FREMM frigate, "Emilio Bianchi", was successfully launched and is expected to be delivered in the summer of 2025. In February this year, the Italian Parliament also approved the purchase plan of two new-generation FREMM EVO frigates. Analysts said that the formal signing of the contract this time indicated that the FREMM frigate shipbuilding plan has entered the next stage.
According to reports, Horizon Naval Systems entrusted the shipbuilding task to the shipyards of Fincantieri Group and Leonardo Group, of which Fincantieri Group received an order of about 690 million euros and Leonardo Group received an order of about 415 million euros. Compared with the FREMM frigate, the new generation of FREMM EVO frigates has upgraded the combat management system, network warfare capabilities, power supply and distribution systems, including being equipped with a modern SADOC MK4 combat management system and a new Kronos dual-band radar. In addition, the new ships will enhance the operational capabilities of unmanned systems such as drones, unmanned boats, and unmanned submarines. It is reported that the first FREMM EVO frigate will be delivered in 2029 and the second will be delivered in 2030. A senior Italian Navy official said: "The purchase of two FREMM EVO frigates is part of the modernization plan launched by the Italian Navy to enhance its capabilities, with the aim of effectively responding to various situations now and in the future in a rapidly changing world."
In recent years, the Italian Navy has issued a series of relevant policies and regulations to promote the construction of naval equipment. In 2019, the Italian Navy promulgated the "Navy Strategic Plan 2019-2034", proposing a fleet renewal plan for the next 15 years. In 2023, the Italian Ministry of Defense mentioned in the "National Defense Plan 2023-2025" that it will continue to promote the implementation of the Navy's plan to build multiple new ships to ensure the smooth progress of naval equipment construction. In terms of specific implementation, in addition to the FREMM project, the Italian Navy has also promoted a number of other large-scale equipment construction plans. In 2023, the European Equipment Procurement Agency approved the French and Italian navies to carry out the mid-term upgrade project of the Horizon-class destroyer, which is expected to cost US$1.7 billion. In June this year, the Italian Navy launched a bidding project for underwater submersible technology, investing US$13.2 million. On July 13 this year, the Italian Navy's "Domenico Milire" patrol ship held a launching ceremony, marking the end of the 3.9 billion euro multi-purpose offshore patrol ship project. In addition, the Italian Navy will build two 10,000-ton DDX destroyers to replace the Penny-class destroyers that entered service around the 1990s.
(China National Defense News, August 14, 2024, Page 4)
Author: Hua Gui
Source: China National Defense News
