US Navy receives final Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship
The delivery acceptance of the future USS Pierre marks the conclusion of the construction phase for the Independence-variant.
Naviris (the 50:50 JV between Fincantieri and Naval Group) and Navantia have signed an MoU in connection with the European Patrol Corvette (EPC) programme.
Both parties announced that they will ‘act in a fully coordinated way’ with Fincantieri and Naval Group by conducting a series of design studies for EPC, which is envisaged to be 100m long with 3,000t displacement.
‘The studies could potentially benefit from European Union and national funds and will include a large part of R&D leading to innovative solutions for making easier the co-development and interoperability, the efficiency of the vessels in operations and digital data management,’ Naviris and Navantia noted in a joint statement on 11 February.
To date, France, Italy (as project coordinator), Spain and Greece have signed up for the EPC, which is designated as a key programme within the EU Permanent Structured Cooperation framework and has the backing of the European Defence Agency.
The EPC is intended to replace to replace several classes of ships, from patrol vessels to light frigates, from 2027.
‘The design requirements for these vessels, with a clear objective of commonality of solutions and modularity for adaptation to national requirements, are expected from the [participating] navies in 2021,’ Naviris and Navantia added.
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European Patrol Corvette (EPC)/Buques de Protección Marítima (BPM) [Spain]
The delivery acceptance of the future USS Pierre marks the conclusion of the construction phase for the Independence-variant.
The new Barracuda version has been engineered to perform enhanced subsea and seabed warfare missions.
The nearly $25 billion investment will cover USCG procurement of cutters, aircraft, helicopters, training simulators and Polar capabilities over the next four years.
After commissioning, FRC Frederick Mann will operate in Alaska and perform multiple missions.
The US Coast Guard (USCG) created new units, including five Programme Executive Offices (PEOs), to facilitate and speed up the procurement of new capabilities.
The US Navy does not have a precise date for the award of the procurement contract for the third Arleigh Burke-class destroyer despite having the funds to advance with the programme in FY2025.