On the 24th October 2023, with a ceremony held at OCCAR premises in Rome, OCCAR (Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation) has signed with a Consortium, coordinated by Naviris and gathering together Fincantieri (Italy), Naval Group (France), Navantia (Spain) and other beneficiaries from Greece, Denmark and Norway (*) all the Modular and Multirole Patrol Corvette (MMPC) contractual documents for the implementation of the first phase of the European Patrol Corvette (EPC) project.
The overall value of this first phase is 87 M€ and is strongly supported by the European Commission (EC) through the European Defence Fund (EDF). Indeed, 60 M€ will be funded by the EC in the form of “grants” while the remaining 27 M€ will be funded by the Member States (Italy, France, Spain, Denmark, Greece and Norway) who decided to support the project. OCCAR will manage the full scope of the project, acting as Granting Authority, on mandate of the EC, and Contracting Authority, on mandate of the above-mentioned Member States.
On the same day, the Delegates of the companies signed a consortium agreement, whose objective is to rule the execution of the project, maximizing synergies and collaboration among European shipbuilding industries.
With a duration of 24 months, this MMPC first contract aims to provide the initial design of a next generation class of naval vessel, the European Patrol Corvette (EPC), launched in the context of a PESCO project (1). The EPC will include at first two main versions: the Long Range Multipurpose and the Full Combat Multipurpose, both maximizing innovations, synergies and cross-fertilization among three main European shipbuilding architects and manufacturers Naval Group, Fincantieri, Navantia, linked with the operational needs of the different Navies.
The EPC programme represents a step forward in the European defence cooperation. It will strongly contribute to the European sovereignty in the second line vessels domain, by strengthening the European industry, increasing efficiency and lowering delays to go from the military need to the delivery to Navies. By developing together a new and disruptive
class of corvettes, the four companies aim to ensure and foster a European sovereignty based on European “in-house” skills and know-how. This contract signature highlights the capabilities of the nations, through the management by OCCAR, to work efficiently together and to pool the know-how of their prominent naval industries, for supporting the European navies. It also shows how important and effective can be the EDF, to support the European Member States in the development of defence capabilities made in Europe.
Based on innovative and disruptive technologies, the new class will illustrate a group of smart, innovative, affordable, sustainable, interoperable and flexible vessels designed to meet a wide range of missions in a continuously evolving context. Depending on the requirements specified by each Navy, the ships will be able to carry out a wide range of missions in operational contexts as diverse as surveillance on the high seas with a high degree of autonomy, or law enforcement and sovereignty affirmation missions closer to the coast, adapted to the different Navies needs.
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(1) The European Patrol Corvette (EPC) is a program of future innovative naval vessels which is developed in a collaborative way by several Navies and members of the European Union, under the banner of the PESCO* project (PESCO approval in 2019). Five Navies have officially joined the project (Italy, France, Spain Greece and Norway while Romania, Ireland and Portugal are observers) to define jointly the requirements for a 2nd rank surface combatant of about 110 meters long and 3000 tons able to replace in the near future several series of ships.
The EPC project is strongly supported by European Commission and participating Member States. The European Commission opened a call named MMPC – Modular and Multirole Patrol Corvette – for which Naviris coordinated the elaboration of a proposal by pooling together the expertise of a European consortium (40 companies in 12 countries) which was submitted in December 2021. This proposal has been selected in July 2022 with a grant of EDF and national co-funding of the Member States for a two year initial phase of design, the development of technological bricks and the definition of common working methodologies, rules and standards.
With its ambition of excellence, the programme intends to grow with the expertise of various specialized European companies, in line with the European Commission strategy and national participating Member States defence strategies and Navies needs.
About Naviris
Naviris is a 50/50 owned joint venture by Fincantieri and Naval Group, officially launched in January 2020. With this alliance bringing new opportunities to the surface ship market, Fincantieri and Naval Group have cemented their joint desire to build a future of excellence for the shipbuilding industry and navies. The two European leaders with complementary offers, supported by a large ecosystem, came together to better serve the world’s navies and mutually increase their competitive edge. They are materialising their shared worldwide ambition: the alliance is based on a mutual understanding of the challenges and realities of naval defence in the world of today. Naviris is dedicated to opening the doors to the international markets of tomorrow.
Naviris at the heart of European Defence
Media contact:
Ilaria Castagnola ilaria.castagnola@naviris.com +39 345 0848813
About Fincantieri
Fincantieri is one of the world’s largest shipbuilding groups, the only one active in all high-tech marine industry sectors. It is leader in the construction and transformation of cruise, naval and oil & gas and wind offshore vessels, as well as in the production of systems and component equipment, after-sales services and marine interiors solutions. Thanks to the expertise developed in the management of complex projects, the Group boasts first-class references in infrastructures, and is a reference player in digital technologies and cybersecurity, electronics and advanced systems. With over 230 years of history and more than 7,000 ships built, Fincantieri maintains its know-how, expertise and management centres in Italy, here employing
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10,000 workers and creating around 90,000 jobs, which double worldwide thanks to a production network of 18 shipyards operating in four continents and with almost 21,000 employees. www.fincantieri.com
Press Office:
Tel. +39 040 3192473
press.office@fincantieri.it
Investor Relations
Tel. +39 040 3192111
investor.relations@fincantieri.it
About Naval Group
Naval Group is a partner to its customers’ maritime sovereignty. An international player in naval Defence and heir to French naval know-how, Naval Group develops innovative solutions to meet the needs of navies. Present throughout the entire life cycle of the ships, the group designs, builds, integrates and maintains submarines and surface ships, as well as their systems and equipment, through to dismantling. It also provides services for shipyards and naval bases. A high-tech company, it builds on its exceptional expertise, its unique design and production resources and its ability to set up strategic partnerships and successful transfers of technology. Attentive to the challenges of corporate social responsibility, Naval Group is a member of the United Nations Global Compact. With operations on five continents, the group has a turnover of 4.3 billion euros and employs 16 029 people (full-time equivalents / 2022 data).
Press contacts:
Véronique Page veronique.page@naval-group.com +33 (0) 6 37 18 01 32
Bénédicte Mano benedicte.mano@naval-group.com +33 (0)6 76 46 17 77
About Navantia
With a history of more than 300 years building ships for the Spanish Navy, Navantia is a state-owned strategic Defence and technology company. Its areas of specialization range from shipbuilding (surface and submarine), to the design and integration of state-of-the art systems, life cycle support and smart services. Additionally, through its brand Navantia Seanergies, it is a global supplier for the development of offshore wind energy and other green energies such as hydrogen. Navantia employs nearly 4,000 people directly in Spain, mainly at its offices in Ferrol and Fene (A Coruña), Puerto, Real, San Fernando, Cádiz and Rota (Cádiz), Cartagena (Murcia Region) and Madrid and has subsidiaries in Australia, Saudi Arabia and United Kingdom.
Committed to building a safe and sustainable future through technological excellence and industrial collaboration, Navantia has contracts with Governments and companies around the world, as well as ties with universities and technological and academic centres. It contributes to sustainability and innovation through its daily commitment to people and the planet through its ESG practices. It is owned 100% by the Sociedad Española de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI), attached to the Spanish Ministry of Finance.
Carolina Jiménez cjmenez@navantia.es +34 600905518
Esther Benito ebenito@navantia.es +34 690109243
(*) About other beneficiaries
1. INTEGRATED SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT S.A. (ISD), Greece
2. HYDRUS ENGENEERING S.A., Greece
3. INTRACOM DEFENCE S.A. (IDE), Greece
4. PRISMA ELECTRONICS, Greece
5. FEAC ENGINEERING, Greece
6. TERRA SPATIUM, Greece
7. VESTDAVIT, Norway
8. FORCE TECHNOLOGY, Denmark
9. SH DEFENCE, Denmark
