NFS U212 submarine. (OCCAR)
The Italian Navy's Type 212 Near Future Submarine (NFS) programme has successfully completed its critical design review (CDR).
In a statement issued on 21 February, the European defence procurement agency Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR) said the CDR had successfully demonstrated that the design is mature and fully compliant to mission performance requirements and can proceed with the manufacturing, system installation, integration, and trial test phase.
Under the Type 212 NFS programme, the Italian Navy is planning to procure four new boats that are evolved from the service's existing Todaro (Type 212A)-class air-independent propulsion diesel-electric submarines (SSKs). Fincantieri was awarded a EUR1.35 billion (USD1.63 billion) contract for the first pair via OCCAR on behalf of the Italian Ministry of Defence in February 2021. The contract includes an option for the two follow-on submarines, in addition to new training devices and 10 years of in-service support.
The first submarine was laid down at Fincantieri's Muggiano shipyard in La Spezia in January 2022, and will be launched in 2026 and commissioned in late 2027 under current planning. The second boat is planned to start construction in 2024 with a view to being delivered in 2029.
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