Toward the end of last December, the Italian Navy formally launched the acquisition process aimed at the construction of two new guided-missile destroyers (DDX), an agreement that will require an investment of approximately €2.7 billion by Rome. According to official publicly available documents, the project sets February 18 as the starting date for the procurement procedure, while—consistent with other equipment programs of the service—the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) is listed as the purchasing authority, together with the Direzione Nazionale degli Armamenti (DNA).
It is worth noting that the new destroyers to be built for the Marina Militare are described in official documentation as a technological development of the FREMM EVO ships, intended to replace the aging ITS Mimbelli and ITS Durand de la Penne, vessels that entered service in the early 1990s. If the project moves forward successfully, the two DDX units will join the Italian destroyer fleet alongside ITS Andrea Doria and ITS Caio Duilio, both belonging to the Orizzonte class introduced in the 2000s. Looking ahead, two additional DDX units could also be acquired to eventually replace this latter class as well.
It is also useful to recall that the intention to develop and field new destroyers to strengthen Italy’s surface naval capabilities can be traced back to the Multiannual Defence Planning Document published in 2020, which outlined equipment and funding plans for the Armed Forces over the following three years. In particular, from this milestone onward, Rome initiated studies for the development and procurement of the vessels in question, allocating funding from the regular defense budget, including approximately €4.5 million for risk reduction activities.
Originally, the initial roadmap envisioned having a production contract signed by 2023 and the first ship completed by 2028; however, due to the complexity of the design effort and its high costs, these milestones could not be achieved as planned. As of today, it is known that the ships will have a displacement of approximately 14,000 tons each and will be primarily focused on air defense missions. One of their main features will therefore be a large number of vertical launch system (VLS) cells for missile deployment. According to local reports, up to 80 cells could be installed for this purpose, with the A-70 and A-50 systems confirmed as the primary launchers.
Among other details noted by analysts, the vessels are expected to have an overall length of around 175 meters, a beam of 24 meters, and a draft of approximately 9 meters. With these dimensions, each ship could accommodate a crew of up to 300 personnel, as well as a CODOGAL propulsion plant capable of achieving speeds of around 30 knots. Additionally, the destroyers would feature an aft flight deck capable of operating an EH101 helicopter, while in terms of sensors, the DDX are expected to be equipped with a rotating long-range L-band radar similar to that fitted on the ITS Trieste.
Images used for illustrative purposes – Orizzonte-class destroyer Andrea Doria (D 553)
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