Italy-based companies are collaborating to deliver the Italian Navy’s requirements for advanced sub-sea drone technologies.
Fincantieri said it would work with Leonardo and Saipem to respond to the service’s solicitations for modern underwater propulsion, communications, and drone launch and recovery capabilities.
“The responses to all four tenders will be made by clusters of companies,” a Fincantieri spokesperson told Defense News.
The first contract, worth $3.7 million, envisions a launch and recovery system to hold heavy sea drones and transmit data.
A second solicitation for $3.1 million requires algorithms for the drones’ target acquisition, while a third for $3.6 million needs communication capabilities for swarms of drones.
The Italian Navy’s fourth requirement, valued at $2.8 million, aims to produce energy from sea currents to power drones.
The solicitations represent the initial projects from the service’s new sub-sea center, launched in 2023 to consolidate efforts by the government, industry and academia to develop modern naval capabilities.
The navy issued the solicitations following news of its plans to modernize its fleet by manufacturing a new-generation submarine and developing a large-displacement autonomous underwater vehicle.