Italy signs €3.7 billion contract for two next-generation DDX destroyers.
Italy has formally launched one of its most important naval defence programmes in recent years, with Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (OSN) signing a contract worth approximately €3.7 billion for the development and construction of two new-generation DDX destroyers for the Italian Navy.
The contract was signed on 24 September 2026 with OCCAR, the Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’Armement, the international organisation responsible for managing several European defence programmes.
Of the total contract value, around €1.3 billion is linked to options. Under the programme, OSN is expected to sign sub-contracts with its two parent companies, Fincantieri and Leonardo. Fincantieri’s share will be worth approximately €1.8 billion, including around €800 million in options, while Leonardo’s will be approximately €1.7 billion, including about €480 million in options.
The programme will see Fincantieri act as the platform system integrator, while Leonardo will be responsible for the combat system.
A new generation of Italian warships
The DDX programme is intended to provide the Italian Navy with a new class of destroyers designed for increasingly complex maritime operations.
The ships are being developed around the idea that modern naval warfare depends not only on individual weapons or sensors, but on the ability to connect and coordinate numerous systems.
The DDX vessels will therefore feature extensive digitalisation and automation, linking sensors, weapons, command-and-control systems and ship-management systems.
The combat system will also be designed to support interoperability and information sharing when the ships operate as part of multinational forces.
Fincantieri CEO and General Manager Pierroberto Folgiero described the programme as a strategic milestone for both the company and Italy’s defence industry.
“The DDX programme represents a strategic milestone for Fincantieri and for Italy’s national defence industry,” Folgiero said.
He added that the programme would strengthen Fincantieri’s position in designing and integrating complex naval systems while supporting technological expertise and the Italian supply chain.
Biagio Mazzotta (Left), Chairman & Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO of Fincantieri.
Focus on air and missile defence
One of the central objectives of the DDX programme is to give the Italian Navy a major increase in air and missile defence capabilities.
The ships will incorporate Leonardo’s next-generation SADOC 5 C5I command, control, communications, computers and intelligence architecture, alongside a high-power, fully digital S-band AESA radar and an MBDA weapon system.
According to the companies, the combination is intended to provide an integrated air and missile defence capability against a wide range of threats, including missile, ballistic and hypersonic threats.
The ships are also being designed to operate across multiple domains, with information from different sensors and systems brought together to help commanders assess situations and make decisions.
Leonardo CEO and General Manager Lorenzo Mariani said the programme reflected the growing importance of multi-domain operations.
“Taking part in this programme – which is set to establish new standards in naval defence capabilities – confirms the Italian Navy’s confidence in Leonardo’s technologies,” Mariani said.
He said Leonardo’s digital and system architectures were designed to integrate capabilities and support faster decision-making across the chain of command.
Lorenzo Mariani, Leonardo CEO.
180-metre ships with a digital backbone
The two DDX destroyers will be 180 metres long and have a displacement of approximately 13,500 tonnes.
They are planned to have a range of 4,000 nautical miles and a crew of 251.
Fincantieri describes the ships as a “system of systems”, reflecting the extensive integration between their physical platform, digital infrastructure, sensors, weapons and other equipment.
The ships will also incorporate a number of new engineering features, including a DC power sub-network with an associated energy storage system, an innovative stabilisation system integrated with the steering system and new methods for calculating thermal and electrical balances.
Further digital development of the Ship Management System is also planned.
The ships are intended to replace and evolve the capabilities currently associated with Italy’s Horizon-class destroyers, giving the Navy a newer platform designed around contemporary digital and multi-domain operations.
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The ‘Navis Sapiens’ concept
A major feature of the programme is Fincantieri’s Navis Sapiens concept, which the company describes as a digital approach to ship design.
The idea is to give the vessel an integrated digital architecture capable of collecting and correlating information generated by systems throughout the ship.
Instead of treating each onboard system as a separate source of information, the concept aims to turn data into information that can support operational decisions, technical management and maintenance.
The architecture is intended to remain open and scalable, allowing new technologies and capabilities to be incorporated as they become available.
The ships will also be connected to shore-based infrastructure through what Fincantieri calls its Digital Ecosystem. This is intended to link the digital ship with a digital naval base and enable the sharing of information for areas such as predictive maintenance and logistics.
Such connectivity could support improved readiness, maintenance planning and supply-chain responsiveness while reducing the time needed to diagnose and resolve technical problems.
DDX ships to operate unmanned systems
The digital architecture is also being designed to support unmanned systems.
At a speed of 15 knots, the ships will be capable of managing unmanned underwater and surface assets through their integrated digital backbone.
This would allow the destroyers to use drones alongside conventional shipboard systems for activities such as detection and protection against threats in the air, on the surface and underwater.
The ships will also be designed to optimise the use of energy across propulsion and electrical systems while providing high levels of connectivity.
Delivery planned for 2033 and 2035
The first DDX destroyer is scheduled for delivery in 2033, with the second expected in 2035.
The programme will be carried out through OSN, the joint venture owned 51% by Fincantieri and 49% by Leonardo, drawing on the companies’ experience in naval construction, engineering, combat systems and defence electronics.
OSN CEO Giovanni Sorrentino said the programme went beyond the construction of two ships.
“With the DDX programme, Italy is making a generational leap in its maritime defence capabilities and strengthening a strategic asset that involves the entire national system,” Sorrentino said.
He described the agreement as the beginning of a programme expected to generate industrial and technological benefits across Italy’s defence supply chain.
The DDX programme therefore combines a major shipbuilding project with a broader effort to develop digitally integrated naval capabilities. When the two destroyers enter service in the next decade, they are intended to form a central part of Italy’s ability to conduct air and missile defence and operate as part of increasingly interconnected national and multinational naval forces.
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