The Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation and Naviris have signed a contract to commence development of the European Patrol Corvette, the first phase of the Modular, Multirole Patrol Corvette program.
The naval vessel development project, supported by the European Commission through the European Defence Fund, will develop and produce corvette fleets for militaries and police in the region.
The MMPC contractual documents were signed by OCCAR and Naviris, a consortium that brings together Italy’s Fincantieri, France’s Naval Group, Spain’s Navantia, and members from Greece, Denmark and Norway during a ceremony in Rome on Tuesday.
The first MMPC contract will focus on the initial design of the next-generation class of the corvette. The EPC will have two main configurations: long range multipurpose and full combat multipurpose. It will be modular, flexible, energy-efficient, interoperable and cyber-secure.
The EC is providing about $63 million for the initial phase of the program. Meanwhile, participating states will contribute about $28.5 million to the development effort.
European companies involved in the MMPC also signed a supporting agreement to maximize collaboration among the shipbuilding industries across the region.
