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New Italian Navy uncrewed systems receive initial funding

3rd November 2023 - 05:22 GMT | by Tim Fish

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AWHero, a 200kg class rotary UAS used by Leonardo for Crewed-Uncrewed Teaming trials, has been named as a contender for the Italian Navy's Embarked UAS project. (Photo: Leonardo)

The Italian Navy has been notable for its significant lack of investment in uncrewed systems and has no operational capabilities in this domain, but the recent three-year Defence Programmes document has initiated two new projects.

The early introduction of new indigenously developed uncrewed systems for the Italian Navy look unlikely to occur any time soon, as the Defence Programmes document (DPP) has only allocated a small amount of early funding for 2023–25, with larger amounts reserved for later years.

The first new project will be a new autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) which will provide both an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capability and an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability.

Under the DPP only €6 million (US$6.4 million) of funding has been allocated for AUV system development, with just €3 million each year for 2023 and 2024. The project, however, will last more than 13

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