Italy orders five new-generation minehunters

Image: Leonardo/Intermarine

Italy has awarded a EUR 1.6 billion (about $1.73 billion) order for five new-generation minehunters to a consortium of Intermarine S.p.A. and Leonardo S.p.a.

With a length of approximately 63 meters and a displacement of approximately 1,300 tonnes, the new-generation minehunters will be constructed at Intermarine’s shipyard in Sarzana, La Spezia, Italy.
The entire combat system will be produced and supplied by Leonardo and will comprise a cyber-resilient command and control system, advanced radar and electro-optical sensors, a new broadband sonar with mine detection and classification capabilities, plus an integrated multi – communications bandwidth and data link to ensure the highest and most effective level of interoperability.

Intermarine and Leonardo note that the just-signed contract is the result of a process characterized by massive investments in research and development on new materials and innovative and cutting-edge manufacturing technologies. It follows an intense preliminary studies carried out under a contract signed in 2021 between Intermarine and Italy’s Directorate of Naval Armaments.

The program aims to start the enhancement of Italy’s mine countermeasures capabilities at a time marked by increasing international tensions and growing threats posed in the maritime domain, above and below the surface in areas of Italy’s national strategic interest (Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Red Sea, Persian Gulf and Baltic Sea).

The two companies say that “thanks to the exclusive characteristics of the hulls (resistance to shocks generated by underwater explosions and low magneto-acoustic signature), and to the operational potential offered by the most modern combat system technologies – such as mine hunting sonar, command and multi-domain control system including integrated management of unmanned vehicles – the new generation minehunters will be able to perform a wide spectrum of missions. In addition to … search and clearance operations, the modern assets will carry on the so-called seabed surveillance operations for the control and protection of critical underwater infrastructures (i.e. oil & gas pipelines and maritime data networks) and the protection of cultural heritage and the marine environment.”

They note that the new-generation minehunters “will be distinguished by their capacity for conducting mine countermeasures operations operating inside the minefields, guaranteeing the safety of the crews and using different types of autonomous vehicles as force multipliers and capability gap fillers.”