Fincantieri, Navantia and Naval Group aim for the European corvette
Fincantieri, Naval Group, with their joint venture Naviris, and Navantia strengthen their collaboration for the Modular Multirole Patrol Corvette (Mmpc) program. All the news
Fincantieri advance with the French Naval Group and the Spanish Navantia on the European corvette of the future.
The consortium led by the shipbuilding giant of Trieste, Naval Group and Navantia and coordinated by Naviris (joint venture between Fincantieri and Naval Group), presented on 9 December an offer relating to the Modular Multirole Patrol Corvette (MPC) tender of the European Fund for Defense (Edf). It makes known the group led by Giuseppe Bono.
This is the most important naval initiative within the European Permanent Structured Cooperation (Pesco) project. The project aspires to receive funding from the EDF. The program is worth between 5 and 6 billion euros.
“The objective of the proposal is to maximize synergies and collaboration within the European shipbuilding industry. With the joint development of this new ship, the European Patrol Corvette (Epc), the aim is to guarantee European sovereignty in the sector of second-line ships ”, underline the three European shipyards in the joint statement.
The offer foresees the participation of six countries as co-financiers: Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Denmark and Norway.
All the details.
THE OBJECTIVE OF FINCANTIERI, NAVAL GROUP AND NAVANTIA FOR THE EUROPEAN CORVETTE
The three shipyards also ensure that through "a unified framework of standards and advanced collaborative engineering methodologies, the EPC aims to be developed in a very short time, starting from the configuration definition studies up to the initial design".
The product design will be a turning point compared to the current units, as it is modular and flexible, as well as more energy efficient, more ecological, more secure, more interoperable and attentive to cyber-security. Finally, the Mmpc will be characterized to respond to specific national requirements, while maintaining a common core design of reference.
THE COUNTRIES THAT PARTICIPATE
Four countries participate in the initiative (Italy, France, Spain and Greece involved in the Epc project in the Pesco area). To these are added Denmark and Norway as regards co-financing. The proposal also aims to involve 40 companies for naval systems and components.
FIRST STEP FOR A PROTOTYPE OF THE EUROPEAN CORVETTE
“This proposal constitutes the first fundamental step to prepare the future production of a prototype unit in the event of the issuance of a second EDF call as part of the multiannual planning” explains the note.
"In this context, the promotion of the program to other European Navies, with a joint action of the nations already part of the Pesco program, will strengthen European industry, increasing cooperation, efficiency and reducing duplication of defense spending. ".
The program currently envisages the construction of 20 ships, of which six for France, six for Spain and eight for Italy.
ITALY COORDINATOR OF THE EPC PROJECT
The ambition of the project, to which Italy, France, Spain and Greece have joined at the Pesco level, is in fact to include other European partners to integrate the technological base.
Italy (as coordinator) and France started the project in November 2019 then joined by Greece and Spain. Last February, Navantia signed a memorandum of understanding with Naviris with the aim of promoting industrial collaboration for the development of the European corvette program.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MILITARY SHIP
The ship will have a length of about 100 meters and a tonnage of 3,000 tons.
It should replace several classes of ships from 2027, from patrol boats to frigates. The various participating Marines are expected to submit their design requirements this year.
The EPC is in fact conceived as a common platform. A shared baseline, which can be customized as needed by participating Member States to their needs and national specifications.
TOWARDS EUROPEAN CONSOLIDATION
“Yesterday's announcement […] must be seen as a crucial stage in that European consolidation that the CEO of Fincantieri has been hoping for for some time as the only possible landing place for the future of shipbuilding in the Old Continent” commented Il Sole 24 Ore .
Yet if Defense News recalls that "experts warn that the long-awaited consolidation of the fragmented European naval industry still faces strong headwinds".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/fincantieri-navantia-e-naval-group-puntano-alla-corvetta-europea/ on Tue, 14 Dec 2021 11:29:54 +0000.