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ITALO-FRENCH FREMM PROGRAMME STARTS UP, EUROPEAN DEFENCE INDUSTRIES JOIN FORCES FOR IMPORTANT NAVAL INITIATIVE
04 feb 2008
04 feb 2008
Today at Fincantieri’s Riva Trigoso shipyard (Sestri Levante – Genoa) there was the ceremony to celebrate the cutting of the first sheeting of the first multi role European frigate marking the start-up of the Italo-French FREMM programme of cooperation, the most important joint initiative to date between European defence industries in the naval sector.
The ship, which is due for delivery in the early months of 2012, will be highly flexible in operational terms so as to be able to intervene in all tactical situations. The 139-metre-long, 19.7-wide vessel will have a displacement at full load of approximately 5,900 tonnes. Manned by a crew of 145 she will be able to reach a speed of over 27 knots.
The ships included in the FREMM programme constitute the state of the art of Italian and European defence in the Mediterranean and will support the “Lupo” and “Maestrale” class frigates which were built by Fincantieri in the 1970s.
The Italian participant in the initiative is Orizzonte Sistemi Navali as prime contractor (51% Fincantieri, 49% Finmeccanica) while the French participant is Armaris (DCNS + Thales). The programme involves the construction, by the respective national industries, of 27 frigates of different configuration for the two Navies, 17 for the French Navy and 10 for the Italian Navy. The work will engage Fincantieri’s construction facilities until 2020. Finmeccanica is involved in the Italian programme to a considerable extent as supplier of the combat system.
The first stage of the contract became effective in May 2006 when construction started on the first two Italian ships and the recently approved Financial Law allocated funds for the construction of a further four vessels.
This cooperation has drawn on the positive experience of the previous Italo-French programme “Orizzonte” which involved building two destroyers for each national Navy. The first vessel, the “Andrea Doria”, was delivered by Fincantieri to the Italian Navy last December for completion of testing of the combat system with a view to the vessel becoming fully operational by the end of 2008, while the second ship, the “Caio Duilio”, launched last October, is currently being fitted out at Fincantieri’s Muggiano shipyard (Spezia).
Riva Trigoso, 4 February 2008
The ship, which is due for delivery in the early months of 2012, will be highly flexible in operational terms so as to be able to intervene in all tactical situations. The 139-metre-long, 19.7-wide vessel will have a displacement at full load of approximately 5,900 tonnes. Manned by a crew of 145 she will be able to reach a speed of over 27 knots.
The ships included in the FREMM programme constitute the state of the art of Italian and European defence in the Mediterranean and will support the “Lupo” and “Maestrale” class frigates which were built by Fincantieri in the 1970s.
The Italian participant in the initiative is Orizzonte Sistemi Navali as prime contractor (51% Fincantieri, 49% Finmeccanica) while the French participant is Armaris (DCNS + Thales). The programme involves the construction, by the respective national industries, of 27 frigates of different configuration for the two Navies, 17 for the French Navy and 10 for the Italian Navy. The work will engage Fincantieri’s construction facilities until 2020. Finmeccanica is involved in the Italian programme to a considerable extent as supplier of the combat system.
The first stage of the contract became effective in May 2006 when construction started on the first two Italian ships and the recently approved Financial Law allocated funds for the construction of a further four vessels.
This cooperation has drawn on the positive experience of the previous Italo-French programme “Orizzonte” which involved building two destroyers for each national Navy. The first vessel, the “Andrea Doria”, was delivered by Fincantieri to the Italian Navy last December for completion of testing of the combat system with a view to the vessel becoming fully operational by the end of 2008, while the second ship, the “Caio Duilio”, launched last October, is currently being fitted out at Fincantieri’s Muggiano shipyard (Spezia).
Riva Trigoso, 4 February 2008