The contract for the lead frigate and 9 options has a cumulative value of $5.5 billion
The Department of Defense announces that Fincantieri’s US subsidiary, Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM), has been awarded a contract worth over 1 billion US dollars to build the fifth and sixth Constellation-class frigates for the US Navy, the shipbuilder said.
The contract for the lead frigate and 9 options, signed in 2020, has a cumulative value of 5.5 billion US dollars, including post-delivery availability support and crew training.
Fincantieri secured this 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 completing at present at its Italian shipyards.
Construction on the first frigate, the future USS Constellation, is currently ongoing at the newly revamped Wisconsin shipyard in Marinette.
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.