Italian Navy awards domestic companies Intermarine SpA (IMMSI industrial group) and Leonardo to supply five new minesweepers worth € 1.6 billion. Intermarine and Leonardo, through a Temporary Grouping of Companies, have signed a contract with the Naval Armaments Directorate of the General Secretariat of Defence and the National Armaments Directorate to supply five new minesweepers valued at € 1.6 billion, with an additional € 1 billion in options for the program's completion.
Intermarine will undertake construction at its Sarzana shipyard in northwestern Italy, while Leonardo will provide the electronics, sensors, and the Athena combat system (SADOC version 4). Intermarine will collect €1.165 billion, while Leonardo will collect €430 million.
The NGM/C (New Generation Minehunters/Coastal) will be heavily armoured vessels that absorb shock from underwater explosions and have a low magnetic and acoustic footprint. The length of the ships is 63 meters, and their displacement is 1,300 tons. The NGM/Cs will use various unmanned systems for mine warfare missions. In addition to mine warfare missions, the ships will also be able to carry out seabed surveillance missions, i.e. protection of critical underwater infrastructure (oil and natural gas pipelines, power cables, etc.).
The program aims to avoid resource deficits and initiate the improvement of the National Mine Countermeasures Component at a time marked by increased international tensions and growing threats in the maritime sphere, above and below the surface, as observed in the recent ongoing conflicts in areas of strategic interest to Italy.
