European Patrol Corvette contract could be signed in 2025
EPC project team meeting at Palazzo Marina, Rome. (Photo: Italian Navy)
Around 40 companies across Europe are already involved in the European Patrol Corvette project.
According to a release from the Italian Navy, a contract for constructing the future European Patrol Corvette (EPC) could be signed as soon as 2025.
If a deal is indeed signed in 2025, work on the lead ship could begin in 2026 with a view to deliveries starting in 2030.
The news came after representatives of the Italian Navy, Spain, France, Greece, and the European Defence Agency attended an EPC project team meeting on 8 March in Rome.
The Italian Navy said the meeting to draft common requirements was ‘fundamental’ to further developing the EPC project’s underlying development document.
Across Europe, more than 30 ship classes weigh between 500t to 4000t; the EPC project aims to overcome this market fragmentation with a common vessel.
Denmark and Norway are signed up to the project as co-financiers, and Portugal holds observer status.
In December 2021, the Naviris JV and Navantia submitted an offer for the European Defence Fund (EDF) Modular and Multirole Patrol Corvette (MMPC). MMPC is the name of the EDF tender for the EPC.
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