Italy’s state-controlled shipbuilder Fincantieri and Spain’s state-held Navantia signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly manage the European patrol corvette (EPC) programme, the companies said on Thursday.
The shipbuilders will create a joint venture, open to other EPC partners, to coordinate and run the pan-European project. They will jointly design the full combat multipurpose corvette, the more heavily armed of the two planned variants.
The companies will assess export opportunities for the EPC platform among European navies beyond the four lead countries. The programme forms part of Europe's broader push to raise defence spending after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
EPC falls under the EU’s PESCO defence-cooperation framework and is backed by the European Defence Fund’s multi mission patrol corvette programme. The project gathers 46 companies across 12 countries, led by Italy, Spain, France and Greece.
"This agreement marks a decisive step in the EPC programme, a project that embodies the spirit of European cooperation...," Fincantieri CEO Pierroberto Folgiero said. "Industry plays a fundamental role in building Europe’s defence. With this collaboration, Navantia and Fincantieri are giving a significant boost to the Continent’s defence capabilities," Navantia President Ricardo Dominguez said.
(Reporting by Giulia Segreti in Rome, Editing by Louise Heavens)
