On June 28, the Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri announced the signing of a €500 million contract with the Joint European Arms Cooperation (OCCAR) for the construction of the fourth improved U212 NFS submarine for the Italian Navy. The contract also includes the provision of integrated logistics and service support for 3 previously ordered submarines.
The agreement was signed at the Mujano shipyard by Joachim Suker, director of the European Joint Arms Cooperation Organization, and Dario Destego, general director of the Naval Vessels Department of Fincantierieri, at the Mujano shipyard, and the construction of the third submarine also began on the same day, with the ceremony of cutting the first steel plates, which was ordered in July last year. Vice Admiral Giuseppe Abamont, Chief Inspector General of the Italian Navy's Armaments, was also present at the event on 28 June.
The steel plate cutting ceremony for the first U212 NFS submarine took place at the Mujano shipyard on January 11, 2022, and the steel plate cutting ceremony for the second ship took place on June 6, 2023. The two submarines are scheduled to be delivered to the Italian Navy in 2027 and 2029.
The U212 NFS submarine will gradually replace the four Nazario Salo class submarines: Salvatore Pelosi (S522), Giuliano Prini (S523), Primo Longobado (S524) and Giamfranco Gazana Priarrogia (S525). At the same time, they will complement the four Project 212A Todaro-class submarines in service: "Salvatore Todaro" (S526), "Shire" (S527), "Pietro Venuti" (S528), "Romeo Romeo" (S529).
At the beginning of 2020, the Italian Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Economic Development approved a program for the purchase of up to 4 U212 NFS submarines with a total value of 2.3 billion euros as part of an agreement that guarantees funding for all technical modernization programs of the armed forces. However, according to 2023, the total cost of the program has risen to 2.68 billion euros, with the first 2 submarines initially expected to cost 1.3 billion euros. According to the multi-year planning document released by the Italian Ministry of Defense in October 2020, there has been an increase in funding.
On February 26, 2020, Fincantieri and Leonardo signed the first subcontract, worth 150 million euros, for the design of the battle management system level and the construction of the Somergibilee training center in Tarenta. Also on the same day, thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, the German partner that built the old Type 212A Todaro-class submarines, announced that it had signed a license agreement that would allow the Italians to acquire full shipbuilding rights, as well as subcontracting rights for the main rigid hull bow section, air-independent propulsion with fuel cells, auxiliary equipment and storage systems for liquid oxygen and hydrogen.
The U212 NFS submarine will be derived from the Type 212A Todaro-class submarine, but the main upgrade will be an enhanced electronic warfare suite, capable of carrying special forces soldiers underwater and delivering them to combat areas, or autonomous and unmanned underwater vehicles. However, the biggest advantage will be the ability to launch underwater cruise missiles from under water using torpedo launchers, which will be completely new for submarines of the Italian Navy. These missiles will be the Teseo MK/2E cruise missile (also known as Teseo EVO), developed by the European Missile Group, capable of attacking ground and surface targets at a distance of 360 km.
To meet these conditions, the missile will be equipped with a dual guidance system: radar guidance for attacking ships, and infrared guidance for striking ground targets. The missile will be launched from a 533-mm heavy torpedo tube, which is also designed for the Black Shark heavy anti-submarine torpedo, designed by Whitehead Alenia Subakai Systems. On March 17, 2021, the European Missile Group announced the delivery of Teseo MK/2E cruise missiles to the Italian Navy.
The U212 NFS submarines, like the Type 212A Todaro-class submarines, will also be equipped with new fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries that do not rely on air propulsion systems (AIP), but are based on Siemens, instead of the lead-acid batteries currently in use. As a result, the length of the submarines will be slightly longer (57.2 meters per submarines of the Type 212A "Todaro") class will be increased, and the underwater speed will also increase. The bow section will also be reconfigured, the hull surface will be coated with a new noise-reducing fluoropolymer coating, and the share of the Italian industry in the production of ship components will increase.