Fincantieri says MOU with Aeronautical Service is a “step beyond steel”

Looking beyond steel, Fincantieri has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Fiumicino, Italy-based Aeronautical Service Srl, a composite-materials company that specializes in customizing advanced solutions for extreme tasks.

In particular, the cooperation will focus on the development of a new high-speed Combatant Craft Heavy (CCH) vessel, built in carbon-fiber composites enhanced by nanotechnology. The unit will also feature state-of-the-art stealth performance through reduced radar (RCS), infrared, and magnetic signatures, while ensuring safety and resilience thanks to multifunctional composite materials with fire-retardant and ballistic protection properties. The unit will also be equipped with integrated self-defense systems and will support operations with drones, loitering munitions, and advanced surveillance and communication technologies. Payloads will be fully reconfigurable to adapt to different mission profiles.

The agreement was signed in La Spezia during Seafuture 2025 by Mauro Manzini, vice president sales at the Fincantieri Naval Vessels Division, and Kris Bordignon, CEO of Aeronautical Service.

Fincantieri says that, through this partnership, it is taking a decisive step forward in the implementation of its industrial strategy, which seeks to extend the group’s technological perimeter beyond the use of steel, and consolidate its role as an enabler of innovation in the most advanced and high-tech market segments.

Carbon composite materials, enhanced with nanotechnologies and proprietary engineering solutions, provide a set of key benefits: structural lightness, reduction of radar, infrared and magnetic signatures, high mechanical strength, ballistic protection, fire resistance, and modularity. These features make them strategic both for the evolution of military platforms and for civil applications in sectors where performance and safety are essential.

Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO and managing director of Fincantieri, stated: “With this agreement we clearly affirm our pioneering role in introducing composite materials at sea. It represents a technological paradigm shift that aims to combine innovation, safety and sustainability across all strategic civil and military applications. We are pleased to collaborate with Aeronautical Service, a technologically advanced SME, to jointly design the next generation of shipbuilding.”

“For Aeronautical Service, it is a great honor to collaborate with a group of excellence such as Fincantieri,” said Kris Bordignon, CEO of Aeronautical Service. “This fully Italian agreement strengthens our mission to transfer innovation to leading industrial partners, enhancing our expertise in advanced materials and next-generation platforms.”