New Italian Navy uncrewed systems receive initial funding
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
Our news & analysis is now part of Defence Insight®
A Basic-level or higher Defence Insight subscription is now required to view this content.
More from Naval Warfare
-
![Germany’s F126 delays open the door for Rheinmetall’s naval ambitions]()
Germany’s F126 delays open the door for Rheinmetall’s naval ambitions
Germany’s F126 frigate crisis has handed Rheinmetall an opening it had been working towards for years, and the company intends to make the most of it.
-
![UK Royal Navy dock build question remains open ahead of Programme Euston tender]()
UK Royal Navy dock build question remains open ahead of Programme Euston tender
The UK MoD’s Programme Euston floating dry dock tender has exposed a question about the UK’s naval industrial base: does Britain still have the depth to sustain its own deterrent without foreign intervention.
-
![A closer look at the US Navy’s $268 billion investment in shipbuilding by 2031]()
A closer look at the US Navy’s $268 billion investment in shipbuilding by 2031
The recently released USN 2026 Shipbuilding Plan anticipates the procurement of 185 crewed and uncrewed platforms in the next five years.
