The Department of Defense announced that Fincantieri US subsidiary, Marinette Marine (FMM), was awarded a 526 million dollars contract to build a fourth Constellation-class frigate for the US Navy.
The contract for the lead frigate and 9 option ships, signed in 2020, has a cumulative value of 5.5 billion dollars, including post-delivery availability support and crew training.
Fincantieri succeeded in such a high-profile tender, distinguishing itself among several major U.S. shipyards thanks to a project considered as the most innovative and cutting-edge. The Group’s proposal is based on the FREMM frigate platform, globally recognized as the most technologically advanced, and the backbone of a 10-unit program for the Italian Navy which Fincantieri is currently completing.
Construction on the first frigate, the future USS Constellation, began in late August last year in Marinette, Wis., and FMM is scheduled to deliver it in 2026.
FMM is the spearhead of Fincantieri Marine Group (FMG), which controls two other shipyards also located in the Great Lakes (Wisconsin) – Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding and Fincantieri Ace Marine. The company serves commercial and government customers in the US. FMM is committed to the Littoral Combat Ships program for the US Navy and the Multi-Mission Surface Combatants (MMSC) program for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as part of the US Foreign Military Sales plan.