Navanttia and Fincantieri accelerate work on the European Patrol Corvette

The Spanish Navantia and the Italian company Fincantieri signed a memorandum (MoU) on joint coordination of work under the European Patrol Corvette (EPC). The document provides for the establishment of a joint company responsible for running the programme at the design stage and preparing prototypes.

EPC under PESCO and the European Defence Fund

The European Patrol Corvette is a project under the PESCO mechanism, funded partly by the European Defence Fund (EDF) in the Multi Mission Patrol Corvette programme.

Italy is the leading country. Spain, France and Greece are also involved in the programme and a total of 46 entities from 12 countries are involved.

The aim of the project is to develop a common type of corvette with modular construction, provided for in several task varieties.

The first phase of the programme (Call 1) is currently being implemented, approved in 2021. It includes the design of a project and the preparation of demonstrators of two varieties:

• Full Combat Multipurpose,
• Long-range patrol version (Long Range Multipurpose).

In 2023, EDF allocated EUR 154 million to the next phase (Call 2), which aims to develop the design and start building prototypes.

New governance structure for EPC

The Memorandum provides for the establishment of a joint partnershipNavantiiand Fincantieri. It is to be open to the participation of the other partners of the programme. Its creation depends on the conclusion of final contracts and compliance with formal requirements.

Both companies announced cooperation in the development of a combat corvette variety and its joint offer to potential users in Europe. This means trying to build a single industrial offer that goes beyond the needs of Spanish and Italian marinades.

Industrial dimension of the programme

The EPC programme should be seen as part of the process of strengthening cooperation between some European countries in the design and construction of medium-sized vessels. For participants, this means sharing the costs of development work and using EDF funds.

For industry, this is an attempt to consolidate project competences around one programme and to build a common position on the export market.