As part of the Navy's fleet renewal plan, the international organization for armaments cooperation (Occar) has ordered a new ship - to be precise, a multi-purpose offshore patrol vessel - from the temporary grouping of companies made up of Fincantieri and Finmeccanica (through Selex ES). This brings the number of patrol boats ordered to the RTI to seven. The previous six were awarded in May and three more are still under option. The first delivery will arrive in 2021, the others in the following years up to 2026 (two units in 2024).
In addition to the patrol vessels, the construction, already contracted in recent months, of a logistic support unit and a multi-purpose amphibious unit is planned, the latter through the form of a public contract with the Italian Defense Administration.
The total value of the contracts assigned to RTI thus reaches a value of around 5,4 billion euro, of which Fincantieri's share is around 3,6 billion euro, while that of Finmeccanica amounts to around 1,8 billion of Euro. The assignment of the operating contracts relating to the first tranche of the multi-year program for the renewal of the Navy fleet (the so-called "Naval law") is completed.
The new ships have a double use: the typically military one and that for civil protection and rescue operations at sea. Furthermore, they have a low environmental impact, through advanced low-emission auxiliary propulsion systems (electric motors) and control of biological effluents.
In addition to the construction of these units at its shipyards, Fincantieri will provide life cycle support in the first ten years, divided into logistics activities (courses, spare parts, technical documentation) during the construction of the units and ISS, In Service Support (maintenance ), developed during the post-delivery period, as well as that of naval components and machinery made by the Systems and Components Department, such as shaft lines, rudders, bow thrusters, stabilizer fins and other handling systems, and the automation and part of special supplies for PPAs by the subsidiary Seastema SpA
Finmeccanica will play the role of prime contractor for the combat system through Selex ES, which will develop the new X/C bi-band fixed-face multifunctional radars, the latest generation integrated communication systems, the new electro-optical sensors, the new fire direction and the innovative open architecture Combat Management System.
Selex ES will also be responsible for all subsystems – including the newly developed ones made by the companies Oto Melara (over deck 76mm cannon), WASS (towed sonar array), MBDA (anti-ballistic defense system) and Elettronica (electronic warfare system ) – and life cycle support in the first ten years (integrated and “in-service” logistics support).
