The Italian military navy will add a new submarine to the fleet of U212NFS being built by the semi-public company Fincantieri. The Joint Organization for Armaments Cooperation (Occar), in charge of managing this program, has revealed a disbursement of 500 million euros more for the fourth ship of this type. It is an evolution of the U212A model in which the aforementioned Italian firm participates together with the German Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). Of this previous type, ten units were contemplated in total, distributed between both countries (four for Italy and six for Germany.
Rome has already received the four ships ordered of the original U212A class between 2006 and 2017, (baptized as Todaro, Scirè, Venuti and Romei,) and two and a half years ago work began on another two of the more advanced NFS variant, which should be delivered in 2027 and 2029, and which Rome ordered together with the option of two additional ones. The construction of the first of these two aggregated units was authorised a year ago, with a view to delivery in December 2030, and the second, and therefore fourth in the series, is the one that has now been signed, and is expected to be delivered in January 2032.
The signing of the contract, which took place on Friday, coincided with the steel cutting that marks the start of construction of the third unit at Fincantieri’s Muggiano shipyard in La Spezia, northern Italy.
The U212NFS will replace the four Sauro-class submarines currently available to the Italian naval force.